http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/blog/franceprofonde/segolenes-clivage/ Tim King on French politics Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:32:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/blog/franceprofonde/segolenes-clivage/#comment-79 Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:15:42 +0000 http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/blog/franceprofonde/segolenes-clivage/#comment-79 Yes indeed, well spotted: Jean-Louis Bianco, enarque of course, eminence grise, under Mitterrand he was Sécretaire général de la Présidence de la République, now he is one of the very select team guiding Mme Royal: he is one of her two campaign directors. And yes, while the public cry out for coherent policies, the candidates much prefer the rush of adrenalin and the applause of 5,000 already converted. The first time I heard her speak, Royal said she was going to make joining the unions obligatory, so it is not so much the old left-wing clichés that surprise me as her U-turn on what "participative" really means (listening to everyone, not only those who think like you do) and the internet, which, some of the time, tries to look beyond the clivage. Yes indeed, well spotted: Jean-Louis Bianco, enarque of course, eminence grise, under Mitterrand he was Sécretaire général de la Présidence de la République, now he is one of the very select team guiding Mme Royal: he is one of her two campaign directors. And yes, while the public cry out for coherent policies, the candidates much prefer the rush of adrenalin and the applause of 5,000 already converted. The first time I heard her speak, Royal said she was going to make joining the unions obligatory, so it is not so much the old left-wing clichés that surprise me as her U-turn on what “participative” really means (listening to everyone, not only those who think like you do) and the internet, which, some of the time, tries to look beyond the clivage.

]]> http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/blog/franceprofonde/segolenes-clivage/#comment-77 Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:49:44 +0000 http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/blog/franceprofonde/segolenes-clivage/#comment-77 After the initial 'new face' blitz, I would put a small amount of money on Royal showing some decidedly old fashioned traits. Her FR2 performance after visiting Sweden was a classic 1981 PS discourse with its stress on the unions and its denunciation of share options and the stock market and its vague utoipianism. Not to say that a Rotal presidency would mean a re=run of the early Mittererand years - the euro is now in place - but there is a strangely similar belief that electioneering is more important than coherent policies. And isn't that the tall shape of Mitterrand's chief of staff we see running her campaign from the back of the room? After the initial ‘new face’ blitz, I would put a small amount of money on Royal showing some decidedly old fashioned traits. Her FR2 performance after visiting Sweden was a classic 1981 PS discourse with its stress on the unions and its denunciation of share options and the stock market and its vague utoipianism. Not to say that a Rotal presidency would mean a re=run of the early Mittererand years - the euro is now in place - but there is a strangely similar belief that electioneering is more important than coherent policies. And isn’t that the tall shape of Mitterrand’s chief of staff we see running her campaign from the back of the room?

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