
I'm a Francophile but a little confused. I think it really does matter and this is Round one. There is an article on it in the latest New Yorker. In the article, it says the French are trapped in Cartesian logic. So the left cannot creep toward the center, let alone the right. In France, apparently, "the center" represents a free-market, social-democratic consensus, but The State has been reified and deified by the left and right. No one wants to lose protections. Would you?!
This first round is the "protest round." There are 12 candidates from alot of little parties. They are against globalization, or McDonalds, or for nature or Trotsky. I guess it's kind of like our primaries, only then Round 2, the real deal, is right after! That is terrifying!
In Round 2, the 2 candidates with the most votes face off. The Socialist candidate is said to be "scattered," the conservative is "tightly wired" and now they are chased by a Centrist. None of them come from Establishment families. Now they have to consider high immigration, high employment and competition with the global economy. Something's got to give and it's painful.
"Reform" is associated with people like Margaret Thatcher. May 6 is Round 2, only a week away. Sarkozy has been leading by only 7 points, on average, with Royal and Bayrou close at hand. Then there is Le Pen, the who defines Frenchness by "blood."
In the article, Sarko (nickname for Sarkozy) is small, abrasive, impatient and foot-tapping. He is the one who threatened to blast the suburbs with a graffiti cleaner hose. His wife had an affair but people don't care like that like they would here. Maybe it is even a plus.
Royal sounds like a real Socialist but yes, unfocussed. She doesn't like to delegate. She's supposed to be a good listener, she's a feminist. Her "manifesto" has been compared with Hillary Cinton's "conversation with the American people." "Sometimes she loves immigrants; sometimes she loves the police more."
Bayrou sounds like the dark horse. He doesn't want to admit Turkey to the EU. Europe is big enough. His plan sounds like it will cost less money and do more, and he is smart. He has a toy tractor on his desk. He was Minister of Education at one time. His volunteers adore him. He would share power with a Socialist. I can't find anything really horrible about him.
The article didn't say much about Le Pen. Let's hope he's out.
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