Posted on 04/13/2012 5:13:48 PM PDT by Cincinna
French President Nicolas Sarkozy defended his economic record on Friday as a slew of opinion polls suggested his prospects of re-election were crumbling just over a week from round one of a vote where Socialist Francois Hollande is the clear frontrunner. Four polls published in less than 24 hours showed Hollande extending his lead, with the conservative incumbent's modest gains of the past month starting to evaporate ahead of a two-round contest taking place on April 22 and May 6. A CSA poll showed Hollande winning the May 6 run-off with 57 percent of the vote. Three other polls also indicated that his chances of becoming France's first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand were improving.
Sarkozy maintained that he had helped France weather economic crisis over the past four years far better than countries such as Greece or Spain, and he renewed warnings of market turmoil if Hollande won power. "What fires up the financial markets and speculation is when a country does not repay its debts, reneges on its commitments and embarks on a path of ill-considered spending," Sarkozy told TV news channel "Mr. Hollande, by promising to raise spending without any commitment to cutbacks, is setting the stage for a confidence problem (in financial markets)," he said. Hollande, who says he can slash the public deficit but also promote jobs and education as he hikes tax on the rich, stuck to his line in three newspaper interviews published on Friday. He said austerity would be self-defeating if not accompanied by efforts to promote economic growth in France and Europe.
(Excerpt) Read more at ca.news.yahoo.com ...
Stay informed about the French elections in detail.
Pauvre Sarko, pauvre France!
A reverse in the polls is always possible. Sarko may be suffering from the Richard Nixon effect: no one would admit they voted for him, but he won by a lot.
The debate may also have a game changing effect, but that is grasping at straws.
If France goes down the Socialist road with Hollande, it is doomed. Uncontrolled immigration, higher taxes, redistribution of wealth.
I’m still cautiously optimistic that Sarko can pull this out.
He is the one with a lifetime of experience in high level office, from Mayor to Minister of Finance, Interior, Budget, Defense, and of course, President.
Hollande’s résumé: Chairman of the Socialist Party for ten years. A man who is an atheist, who never married, who had four children with Segolène Royal, dumped her for his newest girlfriend. If he wins, God forbid, he will live in the Elysèe Palace, and represent France, and travel around the world with a woman who is not his wife.
Very depressing!
If France’s electorate makes this switch, to higher taxes and more govt spending amidst a recession, they are put on the road to Athens.
Pauvre Sarko, pauvre France!
A reverse in the polls is always possible. Sarko may be suffering from the Richard Nixon effect: no one would admit they voted for him, but he won by a lot.
The debate may also have a game changing effect, but that is grasping at straws.
If France goes down the Socialist road with Hollande, it is doomed. Uncontrolled immigration, higher taxes, redistribution of wealth.
I’m still cautiously optimistic that Sarko can pull this out.
He is the one with a lifetime of experience in high level office, from Mayor to Minister of Finance, Interior, Budget, Defense, and of course, President.
His résumé: Chairman of the Socialist Party for ten years. A man who is an atheist, who never married, who had four children with Segolène Royal, dumped her for his newest girlfriend. If he wins, God forbid, he will live in the Elysèe Palace, and represent France, and travel around the world with a woman who is not his wife.
Very depressing!
With elections, it is always unpredictable, and I don’t trust polls. So ... we shall see.
That background on Hollande’s family life is a bit startling. I don’t like to see such behaviour normalised.
Evidently Hollande is a model socialist : what his is his,and what’s everyone else’s is his.
“Very depressing!”
For sure. VERY depressing. During the US’s period of absence of leadership, we’ve had a few other countries on the world stage with leaders we could count on, i.e., France, Israel, UK, Canada, now Spain. They may rotate but we need as many as possible. In this case, Europe doesn’t need one of its largest countries going down the tubes. Or maybe they all just have to ‘hit bottom’ before they can get back on track.
These new French polls seem to have turned right after the terrorist incident...is it posible that the French are afraid of more attacks..and are voting for appeasement of Muslim terrorists?
Another thought..power/comtrol in France is so centralized between the government classes, the unions, and the media..is it possible that these polls are an outright fraud..a blatant attempt to steal the election by discouraging Sarkozy’s supporters?
what’s so startling? he ditched his wife and four kids and took up with a babe journalist. john edwards anyone?
France is following in our footsteps, I see..
Nicolas Sarkozy was close to Bush, and who is also being blamed for everything wrong in France, as Bush was in the US. Hollande is the Obama of France, who wants “change.” They’ll get it, but it won’t make a difference. The EU and France is going to have a terrible next few years, and like Obama, Hollande will only be there for the ride.
I’m still thinking Sarkosy will nail it down...French people are wise to Hollande I think, and Sarkosy for the most part has done well for the French. “Change” isn’t what some think it’s cracked up to be...just look at the US!
Thanks Cincinna.
The parallels you draw are very similar.
The election is all about Sarkozy. Objectively speaking, he has done a very good job in trying to decrease spending and the public debt, and increase productivity. He has been a true leader in the face of the most recent, most serious Islamic terrorist attack in France, he has tried to reduce immigration by half.
He really did inherit a terrible situation, and the world economic crisis has taken it’s toll, even though France has done better than other European nations.
The MSM in France hates him, and they hate his wife. Hopefully, they will wake up in time because there are hundreds of Mohamed Mehrahs waiting for the government to show weakness to activate their cells.
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