PODCAST

French Election Special: A Roundtable with CGAI’s European Experts

May 11, 2017

On today's "Global Exchange" Podcast, we speak with three European experts on the recent French election, as well as the upcoming German and U.K. elections. Join Colin in a discussion with Ferry de Kerckhove, Anthony Cary, and Gary Soroka on the results of the recent French election, the rise of populism throughout Europe, and the implications for Canada.

Participant Biographies

• Colin Robertson (host): A former Canadian diplomat and Vice President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a Senior Advisor to Dentons LLP.
• Ferry de Kerckhove: a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He served as Canada’s High Commissioner to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and as Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
• Anthony Cary: a former British diplomat who served as High Commissioner to Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
• Gary Soroka: educated in Canada and the University of Edinburgh where he received his PhD in Political Philosophy. In 1976, he joined the Department of External Affairs and held a number of positions in Ottawa and at Canadian missions abroad. He spent most of his career as a specialist in the area of foreign policy before retiring in 2009.

Related Links

• “The Year of Our Discontent” – Gary Soroka (CGAI Policy Paper)
• “Managing Trump: The Canadian Response” – Colin Robertson (CGAI Policy Update)
• “Canada-US relations on the eve of Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit to Washington” – Ferry de Kerckhove (CGAI Policy Update)
• “The Populists” – Simon Shuster (TIME)
• “The EU 'could fall apart' if populists win the Dutch or French elections” - Barbara Tasch (Business Insider)
• “Will Europe ride the populist wave? A visual guide” – Staff (CNN)
• “Macron defeats Le Pen and the populist revolution – and prepares to make May's task on Brexit harder” – Kim Sengupta (The Independent)
• “Why Macron's French election win matters to the U.S.” – Pamela Falk (CBS News)
• “Now Macron can help Europe win the war against populism” – Mathieu Laine (The Guardian)
• “For France, Macron’s victory is a reprieve only” – Erna Paris (The Globe and Mail)
• “Will Macron’s victory slow the advance of right-wing populism in France?” – Nik Nanos (The Globe and Mail)

Book Recommendations

• Ferry de Kerckhove - “Trying To Please: A Memoir” - by John Julius Norwich
• Anthony Cary - “The Jungle is Neutral" - by F. Spencer Chapman
• Gary Soroka - Readings on populism for an upcoming CGAI Policy Paper.