Regards, Ivan
Posted on 04/26/2006 2:31:35 AM PDT by MadIvan
FED up with being left on the political sidelines by the soaring popularity of Ségolène Royal, the Socialist French presidential candidate, veteran Socialists, including two former prime ministers and several former ministers, have joined forces to halt her meteoric rise.
Until a few months ago senior Socialists were confidently predicting behind the scenes that Ms Royal's reign in the polls would be short-lived and that her media bubble would soon burst, allowing them to reconquer the political stage.
But as the months go by, Ms Royal's position as France's favourite presidential candidate has shown no signs of weakening and the media frenzy surrounding her every public appearance has not abated.
Increasingly eclipsed by the prospect of France's first Madame la Présidente, Ms Royal's male rivals, including the former prime minister Lionel Jospin, have called for a live televised debate between Socialist candidates.
They believe that Ms Royal, 53, whose critics accuse her of failing to express any concrete political programme, will be exposed as a lightweight when confronted by her more experienced rivals.
"A woman cannot be qualified just because she is a woman, that's a fairytale," said an aide to the former finance minister and presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
In the macho world of French politics, Ms Royal's male rivals within the party have already shown an embarrassing lack of gallantry, with one sniping that the presidential race was "not a beauty contest" while another publicly wondered "Who will look after the children?".
The official Socialist party candidate will be chosen in November and most of Ms Royal's rivals are still avoiding any overt public declaration of their desire to succeed Jacques Chirac as French leader.
Ms Royal comes from a conservative and wealthy military family. She first seized the public imagination last year when she stormed the power base of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the former prime minister, at Poitou-Charentes in western France during regional elections, trouncing his designated successor and inflicting a humiliating defeat on the government.
The latest opinion polls suggest she would beat the leading centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, currently the interior minister, by four points in the second round of the presidential elections.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Socialists the world over lust only for power may it be their undoing. not that the "right" of French politics is much better.
Damn, even a French girl can beat the French...
Born on September 1953
Four children
Education and diplomas
Degree in Economics
Graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris
Former student at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration ("Voltaire" class)
Career
January 1978 to May 1980: Student at the École Nationale d’Administration.
1 June 1980 to May 1994: Counsellor, grade 2, at the Administrative Court, assigned to the Administrative Court of Paris.
30 September 1982 to June 1988: Special advisor to the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the French Republic.
12 June 1988 to April 1992: Socialist deputy for the French territorial department of Deux-Sèvres (2nd constituency: Saint-Maixent).
29 March 1992: Appointed Socialist party councillor on Deux-Sèvres departmental authority [Conseil Général], representing La Mothe Saint-Heray canton.
2 April 1992 to 29 March 1993: Minister of the Environment (Bérégovoy administration).
28 March 1993: Re-elected as Socialist party deputy for Deux-Sèvres.
November 1993 to December 1997: First Secretary of the Socialist Party Federation for the French territorial department of Deux-Sèvres.
October 1995 to June 1997: National delegate for the Socialist Party, with responsibility for Public Services.
1 June 1997: Re-elected as French Socialist Party Deputy for Deux-Sèvres (2nd constituency – Saint-Maixent).
4 June 1997: Appointed as Minister at the Ministry of National Education, Research and Technology, with delegated responsibility for School Education (Jospin Administration).
27 March 2000: Appointed as Minister at the Ministry of Employment and Solidarity, with delegated responsibility for Childhood and the Family until May 2002.
Embassy of France in the United States - May 8, 2002
Ségolène has been around for a long time. She was a Minister in François Mitterand's Socialist government. One of her main rivals is her "companion" Socialist Party President François Hollande. They both come from wealthy, prominent Protestant families and have great ambitions.
A fine example of family values!
...from Wikipedia....On April 7, 2006, Mme Royal launced an internet-led electoral campaign at [3], publishing the first of ten chapters of her political manifesto. Though not yet a Presidential candidate, the campaign - which allows contributions by visitors in order to help "complete" the book - is designed to help Mme Royal produce a text which will be published in September 2006, two months before the Socialist Party elects its Presidential candidate. The real choice will be in September 2006, when the Socialist Party and most of all Lionel Jospin will finally announce whether he is a candidate for the presidency. Some experts in French politics think that a Jospin/Royal ticket is secretly being prepared[citation needed]. Royal could thus be the second female Prime Minister of the French republic (the first woman to hold this office was Édith Cresson, appointed by François Mitterrand during the eighties).
Il n'y a pas d'honte être français. Il y a seulement l'honte dans rester de français.
(There is no shame in being French. There is only shame in staying French.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
EU travelling circus comes to town and loses £105m for taxpayer
If her degree meant that she knew anything, she would have long ago renounced socialism.
The flaw in their plan? The "conservative" Jacques Chirac (yes, as you probably know, the American press actually call him that, even though they might as well call him a ham sandwich) has already tried to kiss up to the masses with socialism and it wasn't enough for the brats electorate of La Belle France. Therefeore, 'Madame la Présidente'need only show that's she's a "real Socialist" and she'll win in a landslide.
Jospin, a former Prime Minister is old news, but then again, most candidates in France are retreads.He is very unpopular, and has lost many times.
The only hope I see for them is not the foppish monarchist Philippe de Villier, but nicholas Sarkozy.
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