PRESS TV, Iran
May 5 2007
France remains hot and sunny on candidates
Sat, 05 May 2007 13:29:35
Touria Ghaffari, Press TV, Tehran
The sun shone as French electorates cast their votes in the first
round of the presidential elections. The heat wave has prevailed for
much of the interlude between the two rounds. Both Nicolas Sarkozy
and Segolene Royal remain radiant and confident that Elysee is only
few steps away.
The results of the first round echoed France’s unchanged left-right
split which is the ingredient of French elections. Royal’s victory
must have come as a surprise for Sarkozy who on several occasions had
clearly stated that she would not make it to the second round.
Overall, the outcome showed the French voters’ desire toward a novel
generation of politicians whose proposals are a mélange of their
party lines, emphasizing the national unity and identity borrowed
from far-right National Front party whose only chance of closing in
on the presidential palace was when their leader Jean-Marie Le Pen
became a finalists in the 2002 election.
There was, however, a surprise after the first round. The emergence
of Francois Bayrou with 18 percent of the votes gave him the
confidence to direct his leadership from his new base, the newly
established Democratic Party. His aim now is this summer’s voters in
France’s parliamentary elections. But even though Bayrou tripled his
votes or popularity since his participation in the 2002 presidential
race, his boost could have come at the expense of voters who felt
cornered by a dull list of candidates and others who remained
undecided until the ballot papers were placed in their hands.
Since Royal secured her place in the second round, she has captivated
France with the thought of a woman at the leadership. Her image now
is associated with that of a confident fighter. She has also restored
assurance in the socialist party, sending the message that their
choice of candidate was approved by the public.
After the results of the first round came in, Royal lost no time to
woo Bayrou to join and tag his votes to ensure her a clear victory in
the runoff. In a televised interview, the two appeared friendly.
Royal commented that Bayrou had evolved during his presidential
campaign and possessed some valuable principles. She did not rule out
Bayrou as a possible choice as her prime minister. But on several
occasions during the interview, the two clashed over their policies
linked to economy and Socialist-introduced 35-hour week plan which
many blame for the deteriorating economy. Onlookers were left
wondering if Bayrou with his line of policies over the economy was
much more closer to Sarkozy than the socialist candidate. Both during
and after the interview, Bayrou remained calm and intact refusing to
endorse either of the candidates. Few days later, in an interview
with Le Monde she was quoted naming Dominique Strauss-Khan as a
possible choice for her prime minister. Strauss-Khan, centrist former
finance minister whom Royal beat to the Socialist nomination is her
formula to give the French the peace of mind they needed to come to
grips with the image they have of the Socialists – weak on economic
issues. And in Royal’s case on foreign policy, too.
Sarkozy too has tried to change some aspects of his campaign. With
the British Prime Minister Tony Blair as his mentor, Sarkozy has
tried to soften his image by concentrating on his presence among
people, seducing the media and selling his political ideology. He has
tried to boost his image as a unifier, much needed after the general
mood of losing French identity with a growing European Union and the
rejection of the European constitution in a referendum. He even
mocked the Royal-Bayrou interview comparing his presence among people
to their chat in a Parisian hotel. For many, including some on the
left, the former interior minister is a formidable political force,
especially since he has shown strong protectionist instincts, one
example demonstrated when he poured state funds to save the ailing
French company Alstom.
Sarkozy has the backing of a large majority of the young in France
who believe he is the only candidate with the ability to reform the
economy and help France compete.
On matters of foreign policy he took President Jacques Chirac’s side
on Iraq, keeping France out of the misery, but upset new EU members
by saying those with lower taxes than old Europe should not receive
EU subsidies. The most important issue facing France regarding the
Union now is how the new leader will mold public opinion to support
the European integration process. One way is to deliver on social
policies and programs, a strong point of the Socialist and less for
the rightist who has proposed tough economic policies for a long term
revival of French economy.
On more controversial European policies, Sarkozy has wasted no time
to voice his strong opposition to the NATO partner, Turkey, in its
bid to join the EU. To make a deeper dent, he has written a letter to
the French Armenian community making promises about France’s
commitment to the recognition of claims on the Armenian genocide by
the Turks during the First World War.
Since his nomination as the Union for Popular Movement (UMP) party,
Sarkozy has received a fair backing from Simone Veil, veteran French
politician and former minister and survival of the Nazi camps. This
has secured votes from the five million French Jews, the largest
Jewish community in Europe.
Both Sarkozy and Royal share views on the Iranian Nuclear plan. They
have rejected a military attack but have urged Iran to halt its
uranium enrichment, opting for multilateral negotiations.
In a survey carried out by Novartis-Harris and the International
Herald Tribune, the majority of French public remain open to shape
the world affairs. Overall, three quarter of the French people want
France to stay with the Security Council. Almost half want the new
government to concentrate more on European politics than the
international crisis. And despite France’s stance on Iraq, 74% of
Americans quizzed say that they hope the future leader in France
would improve relations between the two countries.
The two candidates televised debate, watched by 23 million worldwide,
did not bring enough points for Royal to top the opinion polls. The
two still remain apart by a few points. But in elections, few points
make big differences.