French presidential electio

[longfingernails]

Can they both lose please?

Sarkozy is a disgrace to the conservative cause. We had such high hopes when he came in.

Hollande would be fantastic for Britain in the short-term because of the exodus of talented people towards our shores his policies would cause. But medium-term his socialist policies would be bad for Europe (Sarkozy's socialist policies are already bad enough).

Neither candidate has a plan for France to halt her unfortunate decline.

I'm sure Mini can answer for herself Ttosca.

That said, your post is pretty articulate about what you think is wrong. Light on what your alternative would be though.

It's easy to be an armchair critic, slagging off decisions made by others. Not so easy to make decisions when you are johnny on the spot and not living in a hypothetical world.

That's fine, it chimes with what I think,
I don't believe we have a democratic process just through the vote and I think a lot of other people agree which is why so few people turn out and vote. Many though let their voice be heard through various pressure groups and of course not all of us vote because their isn't a party that we would vote for. I also think consumers are starting to take their concerns directly to the corporations with concerns like corporate watch and recent boycotts. In fact there is now evidence to suggest that direct action works, which makes it all the more necessary that politicians take note.

Some salient comments from IDS about the implications of a Hollande victory:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140206/France-presidential-election-2012-French-swarm-UK-Francois-Hollande-triumphs.html

I personally would welcome high-earning French citizens to the UK. We should encourage more such immigrants to move here from around the world, by cutting taxes and regulation.

According to sources outside France, Hollande is in the lead with 53%.

Yep Hollande will walk it because Sarkozy is a prat.

If he spent less time jetsetting and more time trying to make France more competitive, he would have had a decent chance.

There aren't many people I dislike, but Sarkozy is one them.

LFN - the point is that Hollande is not a one-off. Whether you like it or not, it corresponds with a move against austerity by voters across Europe - including the UK, though that seems to have escaped your notice.

France is not the only country where voters have voted overwhelmingly left-wing. Hooe this gives courage to the UK left that far from socialism being a vote-loser, it is currently a vote-winner across Europe.