Though it may seem cliché to say so, it’s nevertheless true that with his party’s 2012 presidential nomination now secured, the hard work for French Socialist candidate François Hollande is about to begin. With the first round of presidential polling a bit more than six months away, the popular Hollande now becomes the …
Elections
Dominique Strauss-Kahn? Who Dat?
As French Socialist heavyweights Martine Aubry and François Hollande gear up for their Oct. 16 run-off in the contest to select the party’s 2012 presidential candidate, other leftist leaders have joined media pundits to hail the enormous public interest and enthusiasm generated by a primary process whose success was anything but …
French Socialists Seek Candidate—And Unity—To Confront Sarkozy in 2012
So what are the main take-away points for international readers curious about the presidential primary being held by France’s Socialist Party (PS), and now racing towards its Oct. 16 climax? First, that with nearly 2.5 million people having turned out to participate in the opening stage of a mere primary, it seems clear France’s …
As Violence Roils Cairo’s Streets, What Does Egypt’s Junta Want?
The clashes that killed at least 24 Egyptians and wounded scores more on Sunday will have deepened suspicions over the intentions of the country’s military junta, which took power from President Hosni Mubarak last February and promised a transition to democracy. The violence came as a predominantly Christian crowd protesting against …
On Either Side of the Atlantic, Protesters Find Power in Vagueness
Their dilemma isn’t new, isn’t easy, and may eventually require tough choices that will impact the very existence of their movement: How can the growing ranks of the motley anti-Wall Street protest prod an entire system to change when most of the U.S.’s economic establishment, political class, and a significant portion of its …
From Wall Street to Tahrir Square, a New Distrust of Leaders’ Promises
Outrage at a status quo that serves powerful elites at the expense of the majority has, over the past year, drawn millions of (mostly) young people onto the streets of Madrid, Athens, Santiago, New Delhi, Tripoli, Cairo and now even New York City. But their anger is not confined to the status quo; it is also directed at the …
Real Political Scandals Top France’s Autumn Entertainment Ratings
When a real life saga or news event involving a teeming cast of elite characters spins out of control in improbable directions—and with dramatic consequences–the French have a special expression to describe the situation: C’est du Dallas. That’s as in JR, Sue Ellen, Bobby, and the surprising twists and turns of the …
Saudi Women Get the Vote, but Real Power Is Elusive
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in the next set of municipal elections, scheduled for 2015. That’s good news. But not as good as you might think.
Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most sex-segregated place on earth, a country where women can do little without a male chaperon and are not …
Historic Win By French Left Further Darken Sarkozy’s 2012 Re-Election Hopes
With just seven months to go before general elections, France’s unpopular President Nicolas Sarkozy has gotten another signal of just how difficult his effort to retain the Elysée will be. That reminder came in voting on Sunday, when French leftists took control of the upper house of parliament for the first time since France’s …
Dispatch from Birmingham: Despite Many Travails, Nick Clegg and LibDems Brim with Optimism
There was a moment during Nick Clegg’s Q&A Monday at the annual Liberal Democrat Party conference in Birmingham where a questioner asked if Clegg was feeling “hopeless and embarrassed” to be sharing a government with British Prime Minister David Cameron. The question had to do with a scandal earlier this year over the hiring of …
The Paris Homecoming of Dominique “The Sphinx” Strauss-Kahn
Anyone who had been expecting any significant expression from former International Monetary chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn upon his return to Paris —whether contrite, embarrassed, indignant, or bristling with claims of innocence—wound up sadly disappointed Sunday. Just 11 days after all criminal charges against DSK for sexual …
Witness Clears Sarkozy In Bettencourt Scandal (For Now)
In the interests of thorough reporting, fairness to French President Nicolas Sarkozy—and adding new information without messing up the date of yesterday’s post with updating after the calendar has turned—herewith an amendment to Wednesday’s item on France’s epic Bettencourt scandal.
By the end of Wednesday, the Elysée was …
New Claims Link Sarkozy To France’s Epic Bettencourt Scandal
As far as scandals go, it’s the gift that keeps giving—and now it’s starting to give French President Nicolas Sarkozy the same pain in the derrière that it previously inflicted on his fellow conservatives. “It” is the now notorious “affaire Bettencourt”—a tangle of allegations involving manipulation, influence …