More French Politics
or Why I Hate Sarkozy.
This will be heated. But it's an interesting read, seeing how much more exciting French politics is than British or US politics.
My dislike of Sarkozy isn't just because I'm left wing and he's right wing. That would be stupid. I respect some of the things Blair has done, so I can hardly claim to hate him. I also respect Angela Merkel as a person, for example.
But Sarkozy is so much worse then them. On the one hand, there's his personality. He is a horrible, aggressive, insulting man. More on that later, but here is a short video which makes me laugh, 1:35 minutes long. It's in French, but you can get the meaning from the way they speak:
The bit to the left says "A debate in 1993, Sarkozy uses the same dialectic of victimization and the same method of trying to steamroller his opponents. Royal puts him in his place."
In addition to that, there is his racism and classism. He's been courting the extreme-right for a long time. I mentioned before how he said he wanted to "clean out" the surburbs - wherein live mostly the poor children of Arab immigrants - of "scum." They disgust me.
If that wasn't enough, his policies, frankly, scare me. He is unlike any right-wing leader in the past because he's left the traditional seat of French politics. He "admires" Blair & the Anglo-Saxon economic models. His policies include making striking as difficult as it is in Britain, for example. Striking is part of France! Socialism is part of France. The best health care system in the world, a brilliant education system, that emphasis on society is part of France. He wants to do away with it, to make France yet another state in the American model. This is why I think this election is a matter of life and death for France; if Royal wins, she will let France continue to be France. Sarkozy wants to kill it.
In actual politics, you may remember Bayrou, the centrist third man, whose votes Royal and Sarkozy are now battling for to win the second round. I predicted that he would support Royal, but he's stayed neutral, because openly declaring a side would split his party. Several senior members of his party have already said they will vote for Sarkozy.
However, Bayrou himself accepted an offer from Royal to have a televised debate together. It took them two days to find a TV station, and Bayrou has attacked Sarkozy because he believes Sarkozy used his power and his friends in the media (another reason to distrust the man) to stop a TV chain showing the debate. He talked about the "intimidation and menace" of Sarkozy in preventing their debate being aired. He said "There are great financial and media powers around Sarkozy, and direct interventions to the television channels have been made" to prevent the debate being aired. "Sarkozy isn't even president yet. Think of how bad it will be when he is."
This seems to me as good as an endorsement for Royal. And Sarkozy, in his typical arrogant and aggressive manner, responded my attacking Bayrou and Royal with all he's got. "I see the temptation for those for whom the first round of elections did not go as well as hoped to take their revenge by creating a fog in the media. Those who are tempted by this strategy of removing democratic debate should know that I will oppose them." "There are people today who cannot accept that the French people did not choose them, who are convinced their defeat can only be the result of an odious manipulation."
He attacked the "lies" and "slander" of Royal & Bayrou, their "rancour and deceptions." "When I see people in whom one would have great difficulty to find any superiority of heart, of character or of intelligence, giving lessons, I say to myself, 'What have they done in their lives that is so admirable that it allows them to talk about me with such violence, intolerance and contempt?'"
While I am disgusted with the man, and don't doubt that he did intervene with the media, I am glad of this violent attack on Bayrou. Unable to resist the urge to insult and belittle his opponents, Sarkozy has forgotten that he needs Bayrou's supporters to vote for him to become president. Hopefully seeing his true pathetic nature will put Bayrou's supporters off.
In the words of Arlette Laguiller, head of the Workers' Struggle Party, "Sarkozy is a dangerous man." I hope the French see this and defeat the repulsive man. I cannot bear to think of him being in charge of that wonderful republic.
This will be heated. But it's an interesting read, seeing how much more exciting French politics is than British or US politics.
My dislike of Sarkozy isn't just because I'm left wing and he's right wing. That would be stupid. I respect some of the things Blair has done, so I can hardly claim to hate him. I also respect Angela Merkel as a person, for example.
But Sarkozy is so much worse then them. On the one hand, there's his personality. He is a horrible, aggressive, insulting man. More on that later, but here is a short video which makes me laugh, 1:35 minutes long. It's in French, but you can get the meaning from the way they speak:
Click to viewThe bit to the left says "A debate in 1993, Sarkozy uses the same dialectic of victimization and the same method of trying to steamroller his opponents. Royal puts him in his place."
In addition to that, there is his racism and classism. He's been courting the extreme-right for a long time. I mentioned before how he said he wanted to "clean out" the surburbs - wherein live mostly the poor children of Arab immigrants - of "scum." They disgust me.
If that wasn't enough, his policies, frankly, scare me. He is unlike any right-wing leader in the past because he's left the traditional seat of French politics. He "admires" Blair & the Anglo-Saxon economic models. His policies include making striking as difficult as it is in Britain, for example. Striking is part of France! Socialism is part of France. The best health care system in the world, a brilliant education system, that emphasis on society is part of France. He wants to do away with it, to make France yet another state in the American model. This is why I think this election is a matter of life and death for France; if Royal wins, she will let France continue to be France. Sarkozy wants to kill it.
In actual politics, you may remember Bayrou, the centrist third man, whose votes Royal and Sarkozy are now battling for to win the second round. I predicted that he would support Royal, but he's stayed neutral, because openly declaring a side would split his party. Several senior members of his party have already said they will vote for Sarkozy.
However, Bayrou himself accepted an offer from Royal to have a televised debate together. It took them two days to find a TV station, and Bayrou has attacked Sarkozy because he believes Sarkozy used his power and his friends in the media (another reason to distrust the man) to stop a TV chain showing the debate. He talked about the "intimidation and menace" of Sarkozy in preventing their debate being aired. He said "There are great financial and media powers around Sarkozy, and direct interventions to the television channels have been made" to prevent the debate being aired. "Sarkozy isn't even president yet. Think of how bad it will be when he is."
This seems to me as good as an endorsement for Royal. And Sarkozy, in his typical arrogant and aggressive manner, responded my attacking Bayrou and Royal with all he's got. "I see the temptation for those for whom the first round of elections did not go as well as hoped to take their revenge by creating a fog in the media. Those who are tempted by this strategy of removing democratic debate should know that I will oppose them." "There are people today who cannot accept that the French people did not choose them, who are convinced their defeat can only be the result of an odious manipulation."
He attacked the "lies" and "slander" of Royal & Bayrou, their "rancour and deceptions." "When I see people in whom one would have great difficulty to find any superiority of heart, of character or of intelligence, giving lessons, I say to myself, 'What have they done in their lives that is so admirable that it allows them to talk about me with such violence, intolerance and contempt?'"
While I am disgusted with the man, and don't doubt that he did intervene with the media, I am glad of this violent attack on Bayrou. Unable to resist the urge to insult and belittle his opponents, Sarkozy has forgotten that he needs Bayrou's supporters to vote for him to become president. Hopefully seeing his true pathetic nature will put Bayrou's supporters off.
In the words of Arlette Laguiller, head of the Workers' Struggle Party, "Sarkozy is a dangerous man." I hope the French see this and defeat the repulsive man. I cannot bear to think of him being in charge of that wonderful republic.