Barely three days after winning the French Presidential election, Nicholas Sarkozy has managed to upset the electorate by taking an elaborate vacation with some of his rich friends.
Not that the French have anything against vacations; certainly they take a lot of them. However, the extravagance of his little holiday was also combined with Victory Day, when the end of World War II in Europe is celebrated and which is a big deal here, filled with memorials and parades. Sarkozy kind of "forgot," and didn't show up for any of it.
Sure, he's already won. But the legislative elections are only a month away and if he wants his party to keep control of the legislature, it's probably not a good idea to piss off the electorate.
I wonder how many of the working class people who voted for him are now kicking themselves in the butt saying, "Damn! He's really NOT one of us!" I guess it didn't take long for them to figure out what the rest of us knew all along.
So, it's all over but for the rioting. Surprising to no one, sad to 47% of us, Nicholas Sarkozy is now the next President of France.
Pundits will flap for days about the reasons that he won and Segolene Royal lost. Was it because she was a woman? I don't think so. I think the right woman could have won. I think neither she, nor the Socialist Party were, in the end, able to come up with anything that excited the majority of voters. The policies she presented sounded old, and although Sarkozy will probably not make any major changes either (despite what he says), he somehow managed to SOUND as if he could make things better.
What actually happens remains to be seen. The average Frenchman doesn't really want change from what I can tell. Indeed, I really think that Sarko won on the same thing that always seems to sway the American voter; good old law and order. People see him as being able to make them feel "safer." Although, honestly, in comparison to Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and so many other places in America, they really ARE safer here. I'm not saying crime doesn't exist, because it does. And, there are certainly plenty of places I wouldn't want to be walking or driving through during the day, let alone at night. However, I think the fear is exaggerated by the media, in much the same way as is done in the States. And that gives an opening to a candidate who promises to be tough on crime.
The results aside, I found several things fascinating about the whole process.
First, I loved not being beaten over the head every ten minutes by negative advertising on television. It doesn't exist here. Also, no "Swift Boat Veterans"-type groups to make up lies and half truths on either side. How utterly refreshing to allow people to make up their minds through news coverage, speeches, public appearances, FREE AND EQUAL television air time.
Second, clearly people felt involved. 86% of the eligible voters went to the polls yesterday. I don't know when that has happened in the U.S., certainly not in my memory. Also, there were a lot of young voters. They signed up to vote in record numbers and then really went out and did it. I remember in 2004, everyone on the left was saying the youth vote was going to take Kerry over the top. But where were they? Most of them didn't bother.
Third, no "pundits" on the election coverage. The guests who spoke were ALL politicians and elected officials from the various parties. You may or may not have liked what they had to say, but at least they were able to speak from experience and not just because they'd been able to get themselves noticed for some unfathomable reason.
Fourth, after the results were in, we got to watch Sarkozy in his limo going to give his victory speech. It was unbelievable. The man had just won an election, he is going to be the next President of the republic and as his car was driving through the streets of Paris it was completely surrounded, NOT by secret service agents, but by journalists on motor scooters! Yes, there were motorcycle police interspersed, but the Journos were right up NEXT to the car, pointing cameras in through the OPEN WINDOWS!! I just can't imagine that kind of thing today in the U.S. Heck, if anyone tried it, they'd be arrested before the shutter on their camera was able to click over! I kept watching, fascinated. And everyone here took that kind of access for granted. Really gives you food for thought.
Fifth, even though I didn't support him, I found that I didn't have the horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had when the Shrub won. I may not agree with all that he wants to do, but I found myself willing to give him a chance. The man IS a charismatic speaker, I'll grant him that. His words sounded good, but again, the proof will be in what he actually does. I don't know if I felt reasonably okay because I don't understand the issues as well as I do in the U.S., if it's because he DOES deliver a good speech, or because we hadn't been so assaulted by all the negative media that you get in the U.S. that I wasn't mentally exhausted by the whole process. Whatever the cause, I hope that it turns out okay or at least not horrible.
