[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Sarkozy

[Matt Reichel]

I agree entirely with your assessment of the French Socialist Party, who differ from the American Democrats only insofar as they have provided what I consider to be the two pillars of a developed democracy: universal health care and universal advanced education.

One of the obvious problems of the 2007 election was the failure of the far left "altermondialiste" parties to run a unified anti-liberal campaign. In both the Netherlands and Germany, this unification has occurred under the banner of the Dutch Socialist Party (much different than the PS de la France) and the German Linkspartie (Left Party), both new parties built upon the unification of workers, environmentalists, feminists, academics and all opposed to the liberalization of Europe.

Because the French Communist party was once so powerful and continues to possess large sums of money, there is great distrust of their party apparatus among others on the far left in France, thus rendering it impossible to create a unified anti-liberal movement. 

So, yes, I understand that Sarko won because there was little in the line of organized and principled opposition to him. But, still, this man does not represent traditional French conservatism . . . aka . . Gaullism. He's not someone that's going to spar with the PM of the UK just because it's in his blood to do so. He's not someone that is going to make fun of the American president for being idiotic because he feels it his duty to do so! Remember, even conservative French people have always been fearful of Wall Street and London because their patriotic fervor tells them that their government should lead, and not greedy bankers. This is why deGaulle refused to even consider having the UK join the European Union, and les rosbifs had to wait for the General to die before joining in.

On top of that, Sarko is Hungarian! What kind of French patriot wants a dirty Eastern European running their country!?

-
mer

> Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 16:00:00 -0500
> From: galliher at uiuc.edu
> To: mattreichel at hotmail.com
> CC: peace-discuss at anti-war.net
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: Sarkozy
> 
> In large part because the wretchedly rightist Socialists (who were just 
> as bad in Mitterand's time) threw away a winning hand.  The French quite 
> correctly rejected the neoliberal EU constitution when the entire 
> political establishment (including the Socialists) urged its passage. 
> Had the Socialists embraced that expression of the popular will, they 
> would have done much better against Sarko -- Napoleonic at least in 
> stature -- even with a parody Clinton couple at their head. --CGE
> 
> Matt Reichel wrote:
> > I still don't quite understand how this man became president, despite 
> > having been here to see it all unfold.
> > How can a country that sent a Socialist/Communist regime to the elysee 
> > when the US and UK were descending into the pits of 
> > Reaganism/Thatcherism suddenly be taking this drastic course!?
> > 
> > More confusing still yet is the fact that this occurred just on the 
> > heels of extraordinary grassroots action to tackle the CPE and the EU 
> > Constitution.
> > 
> > Still yet, my hope is that eventually political culture will get in the 
> > way of Sarko's plans. While there are some in France that look with awe 
> > at the sparkly, capitalist United States, most of those types have never 
> > actually been there. They are culturally too thoughtful, worldly and 
> > critical to accept the kind of market tyranny that exists in the U.S. 
> > right now . . .
> > 
> > -
> > mer

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