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It was after visiting an uncle when this question came to me. He is a militant of the extreme right, an admirer (adherent?) of Action Française. He's practicing what we call revisionism,the fact to rewrite the history, especially about the dark side of the French History like the Vichy Regime. With this aspects of him, he could be seen as a kind of monster. But he's also a father and a grand father. He's a bland, lambda individual, with nothing wrong in his life. If you don"t speak about politics or about the life in his town, he's someone like you and me. I could say he's someone engaging and friendly. OK, he's a hunter too and that's a problem for a vegan like me but I will not create a fight about that (...He has got a gun). But if you spend several days with him, there will be a moment with a racist or xenophobic remark. I know what it is, my own mother does that sometimes....But with him, it's more than a simple remark, it's a profound ideology, with the continuation of a racist movement that has its roots in 19th century France and to which our Minister of the Interior was close. For me, it's hard to separate the man from that.
I have met several politicians in my life, and it's not easy to see whether she/he's sympathetic because she/he's campaigning or whether she/he's a person with a naturally bonding character. For example, I have seen Xavier Bertrand, a politician from the republican party, regional chairman and unsuccessful candidate in the right-wing primary. He seemed to be funny and pleasant and he was not in a campaign, just walking with a friend, far from it's region. But as a politician, he's more unreliable, sometimes vindictive and authoritarian. I had the same impression with President Chirac but the man was more complex than an impression. I can't stand people like Macron and his party, born traitors, show-offs without having done much other than opportunism. I have known people like that, always in the seduction but thinking only about power and and thinking only of power and manipulating others. But I have seen such people in the left and far left movements. That's life and you will find such people at work. this is not my way of being and thinking.
I don't think it's easy to stay yourself in politics. As a politician, you have to play a role like an actor and to keep what is personal at home. The uncle was not a professional politician and that makes a difference. Some people are very gifted to do that and some are not. But the difference is that in their role, they have the power to change things in people lives, negatively or positively. That's why it's difficult to separate the man/woman from the politician. You can more easily separate the one I am in my job and the one I am at home. My power is very limited to a few people. But for great leaders, it's always interesting to see that difference. I won't speak about Hitler, it's too easy. But I have read a few books about famous leaders and there's not much about their private life, testimonials from their partners and children. After their death, it's always a concert of praise and you won't know nothing interesting. I just come back from a funeral and that's exactly what happened. The man seemed to be great as a grand father and a friend but nothing was said about what he does in his jobs (and in politics...because he made also politics). All is separated.
It seems very French but not only. I remember what was said about George Bush Sr or François Mitterrand. It's difficult to find someone who will speak about the great/bad father/grand father they were and in the same time the ambitious, Machiavellian politician they could be, with sometimes blood on their hands (Irak for one, Algeria for the second...). When I'm going to vote in an election, I'm only looking at the politician side, not the man/woman. I vote for a job they want to be, not for the friend I would like to be in my team. I don't think that everyone does like that because when you ask people about politicians, they are often answering : He/She seems friendly, smart, beautiful, seductive....and they have forgotten what they did before. The perfect example is Macron, elected because he seemed young, smart and beautiful. But many have forgotten his years at the Elysee as adviser, or as minister, doing exactly what was not said...and what he did after to destroy the social gains made since the 2nd world war. The Yellow Jacket episode was not an accident but a consequence...And if I'm looking at other elections in the world, it won't be easy to make a choice, thinking about what is behind a beautiful package made by the politician marketing.
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