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The Slide gathers steam: French Left set to gain in Regional Run-off Vote
via Financial Times - EFL / Fair UseBy Robert Graham in Paris Published: March 23 2004 4:00 | Last Updated: March 23 2004 4:00 The downward spiral steepens... Franceâs mainstream parties of the left are poised to make significant gains in Sundayâs run-off regional elections after the centre-rightâs poor first-round performance. Chriac & Co have certainly given the term centre-right a bad name... A snap survey yesterday conducted by the CSA polling institute showed 46 per cent ready to vote for lists of the left against 38 per cent for the centre right and 16 per cent for the far-right National Front. With the Front ruled out as a second-round ally, the ruling UMP and the government of premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin risk a sharp setback if the poll proves accurate. This would increase the likelihood of President Jacques Chirac appointing a new prime minister. The CSA poll further revealed that 42 per cent of those who voted on Sunday wanted to demonstrate their disaffection with government policy. Perhaps theyâre tired of the "Hate America" game and need a new set of rants to cheer themselves up... Nah, I donât think so either. "As long as you donât touch my benefits and the blame is placed upon an external bogeyman, weâre game!" The leftwing opposition, headed by the Socialist party, was confident yesterday that it could secure the support of the Communists and Greens in regions where they stood in the first round. Socialist officials said this would help to reform the coalition that successfully governed France under Lionel Jospin from 1997-2002 but which was battered in the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2002. ...more... This is what I love about European politics: To create a government out of 47 factional "parties", everyone must compromise their plans in an effort to build a coalition, often resulting in a confused watered-down ineffective and, quite often, pointless non-plan. So, when nothing is achieved, who can be surprised? But, of course, it is far superior to the US semi-unilateralist form. We have so much to learn from our betters. Can the Sixth Republic be far away? Calling Sabine... are you there? Posted by: .com 2004-03-23 |
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