I just turned my computer on. Like most people, I was bracing myself for another morning like the two last year when we woke to find that utter stupidity and populism had prevailed over tolerance and thought. Thank zark this was not another morning like that. I know Macron is not perfect: in no way is he an ideal candidate for lefties like me; but at least he beat La Pen. Had that bitch been elected in France, Europe would effectively be over. The european project – working together, across Europe, towards tolerance and stability – would have been a thing of the past. La Pen would have seen France withdraw, and after that there would have been little point continuing to struggle with it. At least now we europeans still have a glimmer of hope. I’m just ashamed we brits were taken in by the abject, brainless folly that our French neighbours avoided last night. Mind you, we have a chance to redeem ourselves in about a months time.