Marine Le Pen Lost Because Front National Is a Bad Party With Bad Ideas, by Michael van der Galien.

In his column “What Happened in France,” Bruce Bawer tries to explain why Front National’s Marine Le Pen suffered what he calls a “devastating loss.” His conclusion is basically that Europeans have been “psychologically manipulated to the point where they truly believe, on some level, at least in some Orwellian doublethink kind of way, that acting in clear defense of their own existence, their own culture, their own values, and their own posterity, is an act of ugly prejudice.” And so Emmanuel Macron, the darling of the politically correct left and Brussels, won.

That sure sounds like a wonderful, easy-to-grasp explanation, but I’m afraid Bawer is overlooking one rather important detail: the Front National is simply a horrendous party. Yes, yes, I’m aware that we all have to celebrate the rise of populism, and yes, to some degree those parties certainly have an important role to play in modern Europe. Even if you disagree with Le Pen’s policy ideas, you can at least respect her role as a battering ram against political correctness.

All true.

But if you look at the actual content of the Front National’s platform, you can only conclude that the party is anything but conservative. Le Pen and her party are opposed to the free-market system; they’re against free trade. They actually believe the government should take over entire sectors of the economy. Additionally, Front National supports France’s untenable and unaffordable welfare state. Thirty-five-hour work week? Check. Lower the retirement age to 60? Check. Introduce trade barriers? Check.

Let’s face it: When it comes to economics, the Front National and Marine Le Pen are diehard socialists.