When Marine Le Pen entrusted him with the leadership of her party, the Rassemblement National (RN, far-right), in 2021, Jordan Bardella quickly felt "like he was at the helm of the Titanic." The party had become deserted as its senior members and activists were leaving, drawn to far-right rival Eric Zemmour. Three years later, it looks as if Bardella may have to lead the party into the next presidential election: On Monday, March 31, Le Pen was handed a five-year ban on being elected to public office, effective immediately, for embezzling European Parliament funds through fake jobs. But is Bardella up to the challenge?

Under his leadership and driven by his popularity, in 2024 the RN broke its records in the European (31.37%) and parliamentary (33.35% in the first round, together with its allies) elections, and climbed out of its financial deficit (€4.3 million surplus in 2023). Yet behind the shining façade, Bardella has, so far, failed to transform the RN into a "party of government."

When he took the leadership of an organization co-founded by far-right figurehead Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972, Bardella's mission was not only had to support Le Pen's race for the presidency, but also to legitimize and solidify his status as an alternative, in the event of her being impeded from running. Both of these objectives have been undermined by the idleness that, under his leadership, still prevails within the party and shapes its destiny.

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