Posted on 06/13/2007 6:52:52 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
FRENCH SOCIALISTS HIT BY NEW ELECTION DRUBBING
Received Sunday, 10 June 2007 19:05:00 GMT
PARIS, June 10, 2007 (AFP) - France's Socialists faced a new humiliation after a dismal showing in round one of a parliamentary election Sunday set to deliver a huge majority to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Reeling from the defeat of their presidential candidate Segolene Royal last month, the Socialists, already in a minority in the National Assembly, look set to lose up to half their 149 seats, projections said.
Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party and its allies were on course to secure between 383 and 501 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, according to projections by polling firms.
That would give the newly-elected president an absolute parliamentary majority to press ahead with his far-reaching social and economic reforms.
For the Socialists, the main question is likely to be the size of their defeat in the second round of voting next Sunday.
In the worst case scenario it will sink to depths last plumbed in 1993, when in a dramatic electoral collapse it returned just 67 law-makers.
The Socialists' main left wing ally, the Communist Party, risks an even worse fate and will cease to function as a parliamentary bloc if it falls below 20 deputies, as seems inevitable.
Once France's biggest political party, the Communists scored less than two percent in the presidential election and the party is close to bankruptcy.
Earlier this week it was forced to deny rumours that it intends to sell its Paris headquarters, a listed building designed by Oscar Niemeyer.
The left's difficulties owe much to the electoral system, which places the legislative vote in the wake of the presidential race.
This gives an overwhelming advantage to the newly-elected leader, who can convincingly argue that he needs a parliamentary majority to accomplish his manifesto.
The lacklustre nature of the current campaign, which has largely failed to excite the country, suggests that the French public regards the legislative election as of secondary importance compared to the presidential.
But polls also indicate that French voters believe the Socialist Party is in need of urgent modernisation before it can become a credible party of government.
According to a recent CSA survey, 55 percent of the public think the party has adapted badly to changes in the world, 58 percent find its ideas unrealistic, and 55 percent said it has yet to face up to the reasons for Royal's defeat.
The Socialists came to power for the first time in 1981 with the election of President Francois Mitterrand, who won again in 1988.
But they have since lost three presidential elections in a row -- most humiliatingly in 2002 when Lionel Jospin was overtaken by far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round.
The Socialist Party is also hamstrung by deep divisions among its leading members, with left-wing, reformist and "Royal-ist" camps blaming each other for the presidential debacle.
Far from retiring from the fray after her defeat, Royal continues to present herself as the party's best hope for the future and has indicated she will run for the post of First Secretary at a congress due next year at the latest.
The post has been held for the last 10 years by her partner Francois Hollande, who has been heavily criticised for his handling of the presidential campaign.
Good news...thanks for posting; ping
Sarkozy has an important lesson for Giuliani and Thompson... He just flat out told the truth over and over. I watched the debate, and he said things that were absolutely unimaginable for the average Scumbag Frog like Chirac. He said that France doesn’t need more bureaucrats, it needs people who work to keep their money.
Gee, did the reality of Socialism versus the rhetoric finally set in?
Is the world waking up to the fact that socialist governments have no clue or balls to deal with extremist Muslim terrorists?....Maybe, except for the idiots running the democratic party.
Don’t forget Germany and Canada. Hell, even Mexico.
However, due to the shortage of funds, Ms. Royal will be working nights as a stripper.
Future: Watch for bigger and more violent riots. Coming soon as Sark tries to change things. The socialists and friends have no avenue but the streets now.
Great news for France.
Good question.
You mean America's "Socialists"?
I am having an ongoing discussion with liberal relatives about the conservative tide sweeping through the once very pro socialist European nations and Canada.
I mentioned the more conservative LEADERS elected in France, Germany, and Canada.
Do you know of other more conservative leaders / legislatures that have been elected in the socialist European nations???
My liberal relatives think Socialism is of course the BEST SYSTEM.....
And we have the choice of 3 (Count 'em 3) open borderers to be our next President. Just makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over doesn't it?
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