Things are hotting up all over the place. In France the two presidential candidates will have a televised debate tonight - it's live 8-10pm on FranceSur in Ireland. Should be a good old ding-dong, if you can understand French.
Newspaper reports suggest there is a huge battle for France's soul at the moment. It appears generational; over 60s are flocking to Sarkozy, under 35s are sitting in Sego's pocket. The middle ground will be crucial; will they come out and vote? And if so... for who? How strong is the Anyone But Sarkozy factor?
From my perspective he may have some answers but he frames them in a deeply divisive and provocative way and I wouldn't support him if I were French. In fact, given the apparent pride in protest that exists in France, it's hard to see how he could push through any serious reforms without the country being brought to standstill by those who oppose him. Royal gives cause for concern to those on the Left and Right...but France can at least count on her not to sell out their values and isolate their minorities.
Elsewhere Israel's PM Ehud Olmert had his arse handed to him by an independent report into his disastrous crusade into Lebanon last year. It was an utter failure that left over 1200 Lebanese dead. It exposed the limits of Israeli military influence in the region and it convinced me that they were looking for any excuse to invade the southern part of that country. I don't apologise for Hezbollah, but innocent Lebanese citizens were being punished for the reckless behaviour of their countrymen. It was a shit time all round but credit must go to the Israelis for at least dealing with it in an open and honest way. Now all that's left to do is for Olmert to do the decent thing and resign.
Showing posts with label Segleone Royal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Segleone Royal. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The irony of it all
The suburbs continue to simmer in Paris where youths rioted on Tuesday after a man was arrested and allegedly treated roughly by police for not paying his fare at a city train station.
The common, left/liberal view of these riots is that they are an expression of frustration at the state. Those on the right see it more as a sign of an innate deliquency. Either way the protests are likely to impact on the upcoming election.
The impact they have will be directly influenced by voters' political tendencies - if you like Sarkozy and Le Pen, you will probably feel that this violence proves they are correct in the harsh line they take with 'troublemakers' generally and non-white troublemakers in particular. But if you're more to the left I would say you believe that that causes of these frustrations must be addressed, in order to prevent them.
Of course the world is not as straighforward as that. Most voters, it appears from other European elections, are centerists. I would guess they are more concerned with being able to walk safely down the streets than whether or not every citizen has an equal oppportunity. Therefore it seems to me that the riots will benefit the Right more than the Left, and have no benefits at all for the people who are protesting. Recent polls seem to bare that out. The one hope is for them is that one of the main candidates will aknowledge this and take steps to address both issues. Theoretically this is an opportunity for Bayrou. Let's see if he takes it.
The common, left/liberal view of these riots is that they are an expression of frustration at the state. Those on the right see it more as a sign of an innate deliquency. Either way the protests are likely to impact on the upcoming election.
The impact they have will be directly influenced by voters' political tendencies - if you like Sarkozy and Le Pen, you will probably feel that this violence proves they are correct in the harsh line they take with 'troublemakers' generally and non-white troublemakers in particular. But if you're more to the left I would say you believe that that causes of these frustrations must be addressed, in order to prevent them.
Of course the world is not as straighforward as that. Most voters, it appears from other European elections, are centerists. I would guess they are more concerned with being able to walk safely down the streets than whether or not every citizen has an equal oppportunity. Therefore it seems to me that the riots will benefit the Right more than the Left, and have no benefits at all for the people who are protesting. Recent polls seem to bare that out. The one hope is for them is that one of the main candidates will aknowledge this and take steps to address both issues. Theoretically this is an opportunity for Bayrou. Let's see if he takes it.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
French election
It's a little bit hard for me, in far away Ireland, to add anything new to the coverage of the upcoming French Presidential elections. So instead I think I will just try and pull together as much of the coverage as I can. Mostly it comes from English papers which people can find online if they bother to check. Granted that most people don't have time for all that (although maybe they do if they have time for reading this blog!) so I'll hunt and gather, just like your great, great, great Grandad did when we Irish we're under the repressive jackboot of colonial rule and had to roam the land to get a bite to eat. And he wasn't eating a fuckin panini either I can tell ya!Anyway here's a great slideshow from the Guardian, a left leaning paper that isn't showing much support to the left leaning candidate, Segleone Royal.
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