There were a couple of things that reminded me of one afternoon from my misspent teenage years, being a good big sister taking Bingley to the movies and that scene in the original Star Wars.
If you look at General Tarken and European Union President Ursula Von der Leyen, the bone structure really is similar, as is the prototypical villainous icy composure, and they both share a willingness to run the Rebellious peasants into the dirt through any means necessary.
It works.
In France this weekend, there weren't riots or flaming vehicles or buildings in the streets or gendarme dodging explosive charges after the state show trial and conviction of front-running candidate and National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen.
There was a pretty big get together to show her support, though.
Thousands of people gathered in Paris on Sunday to support the French conservative politician and protest her ban from running in the 2027 presidential election
Organizers estimate that around 10,000 people showed up to protest the verdict against Marine Le Pen, which bans her from running for president in 2027. A post on X by the National Rally, whose faction she leads in the French parliament, read: “The people of France refuse to yield to the tyranny that attacks the one who embodies hope for millions of our compatriots.”
Marine Le Pen herself addressed the gathering. “Thank you so much for your courage, your generosity, your perseverance… You are amazing!” she said, also thanking National Rally President Jordan Bardella for his support.
“We will continue to fight for justice,” Marine Le Pen said. She also posted footage from the protest on X, saying “Stand up, for justice, for the people, and for France! “
The most terrifying thing they did was sing the French national anthem.
MASSIVE
— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) April 6, 2025
Enormous crowd of people sing the French national anthem in support of Marine Le Pen after she was BANNED from running for President in 2027.
Why isn't this being shown on the news?pic.twitter.com/oDjZ2CwePd
I'll bet there was hair on fire at that.
Interestingly enough, while French flags fluttered in the breeze above the rally goers, poll takers were busy at work. It was going to be the first test of the waters post-conviction for LePen and her party.
When the reports came in today on the results, they might not have been what the establishment was looking for.
Despite French National Rally (RN) de facto leader Marine Le Pen’s recent conviction, the party has remained a potent force, with its President Jordan Bardella performing strongly in recent polls.
Data published on April 5 from the polling institute Elabe placed RN in first position for the 2027 French presidential election, with both Le Pen and Bardella leading the field.
Should Bardella replace Le Pen as the party’s election candidate, he was projected to receive between 31 per cent and 35.5 per cent of the vote in the first round.
In fact, initial results suggest that LePen has strengthened her grip significantly enough that the havey-cavey machinations of the last election, where other parties made deals in later rounds to ice out RNs candidates, won't be statistically possible in 2027, even if Le Pen is legally barred from being the candidate herself.
...“The RN base is solid, but this doesn’t account for the potential impact of Le Pen’s legal challenges on a presidential runoff. Both Le Pen and Bardella must be strategic in their approach,” he remarked on April 5.
...Additionally, a separate poll published on April 1 for RTL radio network revealed that Le Pen’s 2022 voters would remain loyal to RN even without her taking part in the election.
Between 35 per cent and 36 per cent of French voters would support Bardella in the first round, should he replace Le Pen in 2027.
Notably, 93 per cent of Le Pen’s 2022 supporters would back Bardella over the Conservative Les Republicans party President Laurent Wauquiez in a head-to-head contest. That figure dropped slightly to 89 per cent when facing Bruno Retailleau.
Macron only beat LePen 27.9% to 23.2% in the 2022 elections, and now RN leaders are polling in the mid-30s?
Katy bar the door if that holds up, as well as Le Pen's conviction and banning.
Both are obviously impacting French opinions at the moment and not in an advantageous manner for those in the government.
Another fine European example of squeezing the opposition but having the wrong result pop out was simultaneously happening in Germany.
Friedrich Merz, Christian Democrat (CDU) head, chancellor in waiting, breaker of election promises extraordinaire, and heap big spender, is finding his early rush to tromp on sacred cows to appease both potential coalition partners and impress his Brussels overlords might bite him in the asterisk.
For one thing, Merz's overtures to the Social Democrats (SPD) while jettisoning long-held CDU positions is causing heartburn within his own party. Merz can't afford any rancor in the ranks - he needs every vote to form his coalition.
On April 6, Johannes Winkel, chairman of the CDU’s youth wing Junge Union, warned that he and his fellow youngsters might vote against the coalition agreement currently being negotiated.
...He was especially critical of Merz’ decision to abolish Germany’s federal debt ceiling in a joint vote with SPD and the Greens party.
...Since the start of the negotiations, Merz has been under fire for seemingly giving in too much to the SDP – who only got 16 per cent of the vote compared to the CDU’s 29 per cent.
Since Merz has repeatedly excluded any cooperation with the right-wing AfD party, which received 21 per cent, the SPD is seen as his only possible partner for a coalition government.
While no final coalition agreement has been presented, leaks of supposed compromises did not bode well for the CDU.
Reportedly, Merz has given up already on a big portion of bold plans to curb illegal migration he promised before the election in February.
There was also no agreement on restarting Germany’s nuclear power plants, despite mounting pressure within the CDU to at least reactivate some nuclear stations.
Ben Brechtken, a libertarian columnist, wrote on X on March 20 that Merz was “being led through the ring by the nose by the Left”.
As I've noted before in posts, it took less than 24 hours for Merz to fold completely on the tough new plans he'd initially reached across the aisle to work with Alternative for Germany's (AfD) Alice Weidel. That was before being burned by the hankie-to-the-chest outrage of breaking the cordon sanitaire.
In any event, it was all the Old Magoo to suck hesitant voters to CDU who wanted something, anything done about the immigrants overflowing in their cities and gobbling up their resources. They were still too intimidated by national angst to pull the lever for any party determinedly painted as 'right-wing' by the establishment.
Merz gave them the out. CDU was the safe alternative to the Alternativ, so they gratefully gave him the win...and he jonesed them just that quickly the morning after the election.
And then Merz kept the hits coming - the Greens enshrining Net Zero into the constitution, destroying the debt brake, and marching on with an enhanced German police state, among other great moments.
And remember, this guy isn't officially chancellor yet.
The squeeze is on the country big time, and Germany looks to be slipping through his fingers.
What does the country think of the Old Magoo Meister and the future Germany's looking at under his thumb?
AfD pulled into a statistical tie with Merz's CDU this weekend and is one point away from being the most popular party in the country.
MORE - Friedrich Merz (CDU), a former BlackRock executive, is currently accused of breaking the many promises he made before the election as he wants to form a coalition with the left-wing SPD party.
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 5, 2025
This is a staggering condemnation of Merz's moves since winning.
AfD dominance means 10x more than it might've otherwise, precisely because of the smear campaigns, the dishonesty, the unending tidal waves of lies against them. If German elitoids had just ignored AfD as a goof party and they sprung to the head of the line, that would be one…
— eugyppius (@eugyppius1) April 5, 2025
... AfD, who we are told every minute will ruin everything, bring back the catastrophe of 1933 – Germans are on the verge of making them the strongest party. And the AfD will stay the strongest party, until they're banned or until the firewall comes down.
Economically, socially, the trend line is down, but objectively things aren't even that bad yet in the BRD, the state media is covering for the cartel parties every moment – and still we are going to see a 25%+ AfD very soon.
What happens when things really do get bad? This is only the beginning.
For all the demonization, the screams of 'NAZIS!,' the bans - real and threatened, the discrimination, and outright government sponsored persecution ...
German court decides Police can legally cancel firearms permits & seize firearms from people who are supporting AfD party
— John R Lott Jr. (@JohnRLottJr) April 1, 2025
Shocking that whether you can have a gun in Germany depends on if you are concerned with illegal immigrantshttps://t.co/tHEdCIjYQn https://t.co/tHEdCIjYQn
...the AfD has slipped through authoritarian fingers to be a whisker away from being the most popular party in all of Germany.
If you disagree that he’s Hitler, you’re Hitler. And if you disagree that that you’re Hitler, you’re super-triple-turbo Hitler.
— Brad Lemley (@BradCLemley) April 5, 2025
This stuff has a sell-by date, and it is here.
What does the Evil Empire do now...
...The election might be over, but make no mistake – these poll results matter. First, collapsing support deprives the CDU of options in the present. They can’t walk away from the negotiating table and seek new elections, because they know they’d come out of them vastly worse. Their terrible numbers further strengthen the negotiating position of the SPD, who will force the CDU to accept still more damaging compromises, driving CDU support even lower. Then we must remember that federal elections are not the only game in town. The rank-and-file of the CDU have to contend in an array of district elections in the coming months, and five state elections are approaching in 2026, including two in East Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt) that may well end in the collapse of the firewall at the state level. Dissatisfaction with Merz inside the CDU is widespread and growing.
...with a monster they themselves have created?
...All of this will make it more tempting for the Union parties to support banning AfD. It is hard to discern exactly how this would happen. The CDU could join the left parties of the Bundestag in applying for a ban. The’ve said they might do this if and when the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) upgrades their assessment of the AfD to “confirmed right-wing extreme.” Alternatively, Merz’s government could apply for a ban directly with the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. What happens depends a lot on the strength of the evidence that the BfV have assembled against the AfD; if (as I suspect) this evidence is weak, they’ll want to avoid this measure because of the risk. Any failure would merely confirm the legitimacy of the AfD as a democratic party.
The squeeze will be on to, you know - 'save democracy.'
Before anyone else can get away.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member