- What is happening on the left in recent decades is “revolutionary.” The opposition between the sociological profiles that we can find within it is very evident. On the one hand, it is a group based on post-materialist values – in short: feminism, environmentalism, anti-racist, etc. – generally in the middle classes and with a high socio-economic and welfare situation. On the other hand, we have the losers of globalisation, the precarious, often the ordinary workers, who are told that their situation has worsened in recent years and those who are in a situation of social vulnerability.
We're dealing with a coalition of some kind of neurotics. And it's that, in most cases, the views of each other don't match, and they're often opposed to some issues. The management of immigration or refugee issues is a perfect example, but in the area of the environment, or in other cases, this counterposition can be very visible. In other words, these are workers who have historically been placed in the ideological realm of the left; on the other hand, they are sons and daughters of these workers who have been growing up in society in recent decades. Two very different groups, but of the same ideological scope.
The French elections have been a perfect example of this reality. The ultra-right Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron have faced the second round of the Vuelta a España. The other parties, except one, have voted in favour of Macron since the first day of the campaign. The France insoumise movement, which has won almost 20% of the votes, has tried to maintain the intermediate distance between the two parties. According to sociological studies in France, the loser’s vote was split between France and the National Front in the first round. The leader of the first political movement, Mélenchon, knows this very well and has not wanted to leave this sociological space free for Le Pen. The election is also rather dubious, because through this tibidity Le Pen has been given some legitimacy and loopholes have been found in the democratic wall that has been given so far.
Apart from tactical movements, this reality has completely overshadowed traditional schemes. In this context, the left has nothing to do with the way forward, and whoever takes it, be it one or the other, will always lose out. As hitherto, by defending only the point of view of the progressive middle classes, an electoral freeway is opened for the far-right, there is only one look at the results of the French Socialist Party (PS). However, by betting on precarious people, it comes into direct competition with the far-right and would sometimes be placed before values that have been the basis of the left.