Steven Hayward explains in a Power Line blog entry why he’s willing to reassess his initial impression of France’s president.

I’ve been highly suspicious of Emmanuel Macron, France’s youngish, posterboy president. First of all, he’s French. Second, his “beyondist” positioning between or above the existing French parties—rotten as they are—seems dubious.

And while not abandoning these or other suspicions, his interview published today in the German magazine Der Spiegel makes for some very interesting reading. One comment in particular jumps out:

“I am a strong believer that modern political life must rediscover a sense for symbolism. We need to develop a kind of political heroism. I don’t mean that I want to play the hero. But we need to be amenable once again to creating grand narratives. If you like, post-modernism was the worst thing that could have happened to our democracy. The idea that you have to deconstruct and destroy all grand narratives is not a good one. Since then, trust has evaporated in everything and everyone.

There may be more to this guy than I thought. Reading through the whole thing, which reveals especially his dislike of the media (always a good sign), makes me think he’s much preferable to Merkel for the leadership of the continent. …

… Finally, perhaps we can add Elizabeth Warren to the list of people Macron doesn’t admire, at least by implication from the back and forth in this section:

“DER SPIEGEL: The French left views you as an unbending neoliberal who protects his own caste.

Macron: What does one have to do today to reconcile France? Distribute public money – that’s what some expect, especially the radical left. They think that you help people by handing them money. But that is a fallacy because it is not me distributing the money, but rather future generations. So, it is my duty to say: Something has to change.