A Victory for France and America

VICTORY MESSAGE TO AMERICA: 'YOU CAN COUNT ON FRANCE AS A FRIEND'...Nicolas Sarkozy

Two weeks ago I did a post on the French primary elections. I was excited about Nicolas Sarkozy because he was a conservative and even somewhat pro-American and amazingly, was still doing well in the polls. He was the favored one to win the election against the socialist candidate, Segolene Royal. Here is an article comparing where the 2 stood on different issues, Sarkozy's looks pretty good, especially for France.

I'm happy to report that not only did Sarkozy win but he won by 6 percentage points, 53% to 47%. There was also an 85.5% turnout rate.

This was the platform that Sarkozy ran on:

"Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, presented himself as the "candidate of work", promising to loosen the 35-hour work week by offering tax breaks on overtime and to trim fat from the public service, cut taxes and wage war on unemployment."

It is interesting that the Socialist party can't even win in France, a country known for attempting to have a socialist utopia. Hopefully, Sarkozy can lead his country in a new direction that will be friendlier towards real democracy and towards the U.S.

Others blogging:
Mike's America
Right Wing Rebel

The French Elections

Jacques Chirac is now on his way out and France is set to elect a new leader. This past weekend France narrowed it down to 2 candidates:

"Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal appeared headed Sunday to a presidential runoff, according to preliminary results and pollsters' projections, setting up a stark choice between one of France's most intensely ambitious politicians and a liberal who would be the country's first female leader."

The election to decide between the two candidates is set for May 6th. Pajamas Media Paris Editor, Nidra Poller had very favorable things to say about the Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy:

"Contrary to what many foreign journalists have written, Sarkozy is perhaps the only candidate who is running on a platform instead of a personality cult. His commitment to results is sincere and if he fails to produce, which is quite possible, he will still deserve credit for his courage and straight talk. He is the candidate who has most clearly defined France’s problems and most convincingly pointed to the right path out of the sand trap where this country has been stuck for three-decades. Of all the twelve candidates, many of whom are irresponsible charlatans, Sarkozy is the only one who has been smeared, spattered, and verbally slashed.

That’s why I think Sarkozy will win. Targeted by an underhanded mass media demolition campaign and a forthright banlieue blackmail blitz, he still comes out the winner in every single poll. This must be a mark of citizen determination."

You know a Conservative has won over the masses when he can stay ahead in the polls despite being trashed by the media. Granted a Conservative in France is probably not the same as a Conservative in the U.S., but I also found some favorable things about Sarkozy in my own research:

"He is generally recognized by the right and left as a highly skilled politician and striking orator. Supporters of Sarkozy within France emphasise his charisma, political innovation and willingness to "make a dramatic break" amidst mounting disaffection against "politics as usual"; Some see him as wanting to depart from traditional French social and economic principles in favour of American-style economic reform. Overall, he is generally considered to be somewhat more pro-US than most French politicians."

"Towards the end of his first term as Minister of the Interior, in 2004, Sarkozy was the most popular conservative politician in France, according to polls conducted at the beginning of 2004. His “tough on crime” policies, which included increasing the police presence on the streets and introducing monthly crime performance ratings, were popular with many."

The woman that Sarkozy is running against sounds like your average French socialist. My prayers and best wishes for the best future for France and for French/American relations would be for a Sarkozy win on May 6th.

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin