Sarkozy's party braces for electoral wipeout

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Sarkozy's party braces for electoral wipeout
By ELAINE GANLEY
The Associated Press
Saturday, March 20, 2010; 1:08 AM

PARIS -- President Nicolas Sarkozy's party braced for a potential electoral wipeout in Sunday's final round of regional elections, which an alliance of the rival left hopes will give it a national sweep and a staging ground for 2012 presidential voting.

Even damage control was difficult for the conservatives.

Sarkozy's UMP party, or Union for a Popular Majority, has ended up pleading with voters to go to the polls, hoping supporters simply failed to cast ballots in the first round - the case for more than one in two French.

The participation rate was at a historic low in last Sunday's voting - some 46 percent. The Socialist-led left won 53.5 percent of the votes while the UMP-led conservatives had 39.9 percent.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/20/AR2010032000040.html

[Ozymanithrax]

1. Good.

[Hardrada]

2. Out with Sarkozy! Isn't he some kind of neocon anyway?

[Dogmudgeon]

5. You don't know -- but you want him out?

Sarko is a conservative, by French standards. He's pretty liberal, by ours in the USA. I don't think he's been a bad President, but he's certainly made his share of blunders.

A neo-con? Not quite. Not in the Bush/Cheney mold, anyway.

(I'm sure some DUer will lambaste me for overlooking that he killed five brazillion nuns and orphans, but that's SOP for this place.)

There are many highly talented Socialists/Social Democrats in French politics. If the French want a more left-of-center leadership, they have plenty to choose from. Sarko ran against Segolene Royal ("Sego") in 2006; she would have made a fine leader, too.

--d!

[Hardrada]

7. I thought she was going to get it and I was disappointed.

[demo dutch]

14. Sego would have been a much better leader! Sarko adored GWB that has to be a red flag!

[Odin2005]

17. If Sarkozy were American were would be on the LEFT end of the Democratic Party.

That's how far right we are here in this country.

[Blue_Tires]

21. +1000

[Me.]

3. As Goes France So Goes The World?

:evilgrin:

[pattmarty]

12. We can only hope.

[Grand Taurean]

4. Mainstream French Conservatives

are moderate Democrats by American standards.

[No Elephants]

8. A "moderate Democrat" is a Right Winger. Nixon is a liberal Democrat by modern American standards.

Labels have ceased to matter.

[pattmarty]

13. You hit that right on the head. I posted a short time ago about Nixon.........

...............being the last liberal president, sarcasm intended. But if you look at his Domestic (and even his foreign policy) policy compared to the last 3 Dems, he is actually more liberal. More people on boards like this ought to review recent history and quit worshiping the not very liberal Obama.

[BunkerHill24]

6. Good News indeed, n/t

[No Elephants]

9. I'd like to think they're rejecting conservatives, but maybe they're rejecting incumbents, too.

[pampango]

15. Probably some of both, but the far right did well in the first round; hopefully not this time.

"Another lurking danger is the far-right National Front which surprised pollsters with its first-round performance - about 12 percent of the vote. The party's standard-bearers, longtime leader Jean-Marie Le Pen and daughter Marine, scoring nearly 21 percent in the Riviera region and 18 percent in the north respectively made clear that concerns over security, immigration and France's large Muslim population remain alive.

The National Front will be present in 12 of 24 regions in mainland France with potential to siphon off conservative votes. "

[ro1942]

10. Wonderful, love the french, they hit the streets.

[pattmarty]

11. Most of the European "conservative' parties make the Dems in................

...............this country look like reactionaries. If the majority of people in this country actually knew how the European social model is they would be 75% for it. Lack of education and just plain ignorance will be the end of this country.

[Odin2005]

16. Sarkozy is to the left of most US Dem congress-critters.

And to be fair to Sarkozy I do like his anti-cultural-relativist, pro-women's-rights cultural policies.

[Kingofalldems]

18. Freeper will not like this one

Wow!:shrug:

[New Dawn]

19. K&R - Fuck Sarko!

[Strelnikov_]

20. Sarkozy to Putin: "Do you want to end up like Bush"

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5147422.ece

With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.

Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked. “Why not?” Mr Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like Bush?” Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah — you have scored a point there.”


France could do worse. If only our 'opponents' were as competent as Sarkozy, I would not have as great a sense of unease. Yes, Papa Bush was not my cup of tea, but I didn't fear that he would do something really stupid like I do with the current bunch of clowns the Reich is putting forward as their 'leaders'.

[Odin2005]

22. LOL, that's funny!