Tandem winner or mother killer?
He appears on TikTok with a tie, poses before the French flag, and may soon become the new French Prime Minister: Jordan Bardella is the godson of Marine Le Pen. Even the charge of being a mother's killer couldn't hinder his meteoric rise.
Some voters in France left the polling station disappointed on Sunday without voting - because they couldn't find a ballot with Jordan Bardella's name on it. This not only testifies to democratic knowledge gaps among some supporters of the right-wing populist, but above all to the popularity of the Rassemblement National (RN) party chief. He did not run for office in the National Assembly elections, but lays claim to the premiership if his party gets an absolute majority in the second round. The 28-year-old son of Italian immigrants has an unusual meteoric rise behind him.
As a child, he spent his school vacations with an uncle in Turin who ran a restaurant called "Europe." At 16, Bardella joined the party, which was then called the Front National and advocated France's exit from the EU. Marine Le Pen took notice of him during a pizza evening with the party's youngsters, and trusted him early on a great deal. At 22, Bardella was the party spokesperson and head of its youth organization, and at 23, he was the leading candidate in the European elections. "They all thought I was crazy," Le Pen later said about her party friends who didn't welcome the junior's rapid ascent.
Bardella fit perfectly into Le Pen's "demonization" strategy, as she called the attempt to give the party a less radical image. And he fit with her - there she is, the matriarch who has three presidential campaign attempts behind her and finally wants to win the next one, and there he is, the eloquent political youngster.
Party soldier from humble origins
Bardella comes from humble origins from a Parisian suburb. His housing estate was a drug trafficking hub, but his single mother kept him from falling off the rails. She was strict and valued respect, Bardella told the far-right magazine "Valeurs Actuelles."
He dropped out of his Geography studies before getting his Bachelor's degree because politics had captivated him. If he hadn't gone into politics, he would have become a soldier, Bardella once said. Instead, he became a party soldier and climbed the ranks in the Rassemblement National (RN) under Le Pen's command. Along the way, he became a media professional, brushing aside factual errors and contradictions. He has also been successful with his TikTok performances before an audience of now 1.7 million subscribers - even though he rarely takes off his tie there and often shows himself sitting in a black leather armchair in front of the French flag.
Distance from the Le Pen clan
Bardella has distanced himself from the Le Pen clan in recent weeks, however, and has criticized Marine Le Pen's handling of the party's finances. He has also spoken out against her close relationship with her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who co-founded the party with a member of the Waffen-SS. Bardella's criticism has led to tensions within the party, and some have called for him to be expelled. Despite this, Bardella remains a favorite to become the next French prime minister if the RN wins the upcoming elections.
Already during the campaign for the European election, Le Pen declared that they intended to take power in 2027 as a tandem: she as President, he as Prime Minister. This goal came unexpectedly close to realization, as President Emmanuel Macron called for new elections after the RN's victory in the European election. In the campaign, Macron distanced himself from Le Pen and appealed to the French to vote for him - causing confusion in the polling stations.
In private life, Bardella also distanced himself from the Le Pen clan: according to gossip reports, he separated from his former partner, a niece of Le Pen.
His greatest political coup was the defection of the former party leader of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti. He showed himself alongside Ciotti at a meeting with the Entrepreneur's Union, to reassure their members who were skeptical about the planned election gifts of the RN.
So polished and consensus-seeking Bardella appears in the campaign - in content, he stands for the Euroskeptic, immigration- and Islamophobic stance that the RN has always represented. He warned during the presentation of his program that "the French identity is in danger of being erased on its own soil in an unprecedented way" - a reference to the far-right conspiracy theory of a population exchange threat.
Running for Presidency himself?
And he often uses the scapegoat scheme: in many cases, according to his account, immigrants are to blame for the problems with the state finances or internal security. His plan to impose professional bans on French people with dual citizenship caused a stir.
If the RN fails to achieve an absolute majority in the second round, Bardella stated that he would rather not assume the premiership - out of fear of stumbling over a vote of no confidence shortly thereafter. This would have the advantage for him of not having to get involved in the daily business of government. Instead, he could potentially run for the presidency himself in 2027 - which would bring France the spectacle of a political matricide on Le Pen.
After his criticism of Marine Le Pen's financial management and close relationship with her father, some within the Rassemblement National (RN) have suggested expelling Jordan Bardella. Despite this, he remains a prominent figure within the party and a strong contender for the position of French Prime Minister if RN wins the upcoming elections.
During the 2027 presidential election, there have been rumors that Jordan Bardella might challenge Marine Le Pen for the leadership role in France, potentially leading to a political upheaval within the RN and the French political landscape as a whole.
