As he ends his five-year term and prepares to enter the campaign, what is the image of the President of the Republic? Often criticized because of his divisive personality, Emmanuel Macron knows that in order to have a chance of winning over the French once again in 2022, he needs to display a report, to present a project but above all to show that he is not quite the same, that he kept his dynamism but toned down his arrogance. It’s a bit like Macron, president of the rich in the early years versus Macron, president of whatever it costs since the Covid crisis. Emmanuel Macron will have to take up the challenge of the image.
The image of an arrogant president and disconnected from the reality of the French, which has been summed up by the expression “president of the rich”, is one of the main handicaps of Emmanuel Macron in approaching the presidential campaign. Of course, he is not yet officially a candidate, it is precisely the right time to correct some asperities.
By granting before Christmas a big interview with the TF1 television channel in which he split the armor, played the card of humility by affirming: “ I have learned “, Declared in the tone of confidence: I am” human, emotional “Emmanuel Macron has started to win back hearts. And for Bruno Cautrès, researcher at Cevipof, it was essential: “ The image is a fundamental dimension. The executive power and in particular in France the role of President of the Republic, it is an image, it is an icon … Emmanuel Macron’s starting character remains and what are the elements of this starting character that Emmanuel Macron corrected. Is the Emmanuel Macron of 2022 the Emmanuel Macron of 2017? In other words, is he still Jupiter, president of the rich?
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Still Jupiter?
Have the Covid-19 crisis and the implementation of “whatever the cost” made it possible to change the perception that the French have of Emmanuel Macron? It is not that simple. Of course, by deciding to support the economy and businesses, Emmanuel Macron has saved many jobs, does that allow him to appear as a president sensitive to the difficulties of the French? The political scientist Benjamin Morel, lecturer at the University of Paris 2, does not think so: ” In public opinion, the period of exception is still perceived as being a period of exception. The previous episodes: labor law under François Hollande, Pénicaud ordinances, the pension reform have conditioned the image of a liberal President of the Republic much more on this than the last few months have conditioned the image of a president. social “.
Can we lose an election on an image?
So not easy to get rid of an image and as Bruno Cautrès explains, it is difficult to find the balance between the positive and the negative, which some people like can be prohibitive for others and that can make the difference. in an election. ” That his supporters continue to have the image of him of a courageous, reformer president, who wants to move the lines, from this point of view, it is a very good thing because it makes him loyal. heart of the electorate and that, for the score of the first round, is absolutely essential. On the other hand in a logic of second round, that is to say to be elected, negative image features, that can become a serious handicap. “
Can we lose an election on an image? Listening to Benjamin Morel, the answer is unambiguous: ” A few months before an election, the personality traits perceived by the public are just as or even much more important than the electoral surveys which can be extremely volatile, variable in particular in view of the estimated degree of abstention. So yes, we can clearly lose an election on an image. ”
In 2017, François Hollande could not represent himself because of his image. In 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy was not re-elected because his image was degraded. Emmanuel Macron will he succeed in breaking the curse of the image in 2022?