We learned that President Macron has backed down, or made a U-turn on his newest global warming fuel tax, according to news reports:
France’s prime minister on Tuesday suspended planned increases to fuel taxes for at least six months in response to weeks of sometimes violent protests, the first major U-turn by President Emmanuel Macron’s administration after 18 months in office.
U-turn? It looks more like hitting the brakes and driving off the road!
President Macron made two big mistakes here:
First, he can’t relate to people living in the real world.
It’s one thing to talk about climate change with a bunch of bureaucrats who don’t drive to work or who take public transportation.
It’s quite another to force a bunch of French commuters, farmers, and tradesmen to pay more for gasoline so that President Macron can get accolades from the bureaucrats at The European Union or ex-President Obama.
Climate change is one of those topics that makes a lot people feel relevant and smart. Just talk to them. They tell you that they are saving mankind from The Big Flood coming — whenever it comes. Or they want to protect Africa from starvation. Or they tell you that those fires in California are the direct consequences of some of us driving a large SUV or truck.
Of course, they want more taxes and control over our lives. Why not? They are smart and we are not!
Second, and perhaps more consequential, President Macron forgot one of Napoleon’s rules of leadership: “When you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna“!
In other words, President Macron cracked under pressure. He will now be seen as weak. Everyone in France with something to protest about will now burn and burn more cars. Get your car out of Paris unless you want it to go up in smoke.
Is it over for President Macron? Probably.
Is it over for climate change politics? Absolutely! Don’t expect another democratically elected leader in the West to call for a carbon tax to save us from floods and fires.
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