Editorial. Proportional representation in legislative elections, a miracle solution to force our politicians to build compromises?

With no one having an absolute majority in the National Assembly since the early legislative elections in July, the question of proportional representation is back on the table.

Raphaël Glucksmann made this proposal on Tuesday, August 20 in the columns of Point : “Let’s quickly establish a majority to establish proportional representation for the next legislative elections“. This would not resolve the current deadlock in forming a government, but it would perhaps simplify things in the future. The argument of the PS-Place Publique MEP is as follows: it allows “clarity at the time of voting and then forces compromise to govern“.

With proportional representation, we would not necessarily have a National Assembly less scattered than the current hemicycle. But the problem is that today, we have the disadvantages of proportional representation – an unobtainable majority – without the instructions. Our institutions are designed for a winner who wins everything thanks to the majority vote, and woe to the vanquished. Except that, without a clear winner, we do not know how to do it, a question of political culture and habit. We have seen it since July 7: the left claims to govern alone on the basis of its program while it only has 193 deputies, the right does not want a coalition, the former majority says to the right and the left, outside of LFI, “let’s work together“, without much success so far. We are feeling our way, we are sending each other letters, the president will receive each camp separately from Friday, but there are no real negotiations.

By introducing proportional representation for MPs, the rules of the game would be clear from the start. Each party presents itself alone, with its proposals and sees how much weight it carries. By the way, there is one aspect that Raphaël Glucksmann probably has in mind: no need for an alliance before the elections, so no need to divide up constituencies with LFI. With proportional representation, the philosophy changes, political leaders know in advance that alliances will be needed after the vote. But it is not a magic wand, our European neighbours prove that it can also take months to build a coalition, because it involves bartering: I give up this measure in exchange for that one, and you give up that.

Proportional representation has supporters in all camps. Overall, the NFP is for it, with Insoumis and Ecologists in the lead. The RN has also always called for proportional representation, despite a change in direction at the beginning of July, when Marine Le Pen seemed to be satisfied with the majority vote. But that was before she ran into the Republican front again in the second round. On the side of the former majority, François Bayrou is a historic defender of proportional representation. Tuesday, in The Opinionthe president of the Radical Party, Laurent Hénart, another ally of Emmanuel Macron, also pleads for it. In the spring, it was the president of the Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, quite alone at Renaissance, who wanted to launch this project. But since the dissolution, the “proportionalists” could well be in the majority in the Assembly.