Sarkozy's Reformed Gaulism.

Undoubtedly, Sarkozy's presidency so far has had it's roots in certain Gaulist attitudes, values, and perhaps a kind of philosophy but he has been able to transform traditional Gaulism, the type that characterized Chirac's presidency, to what I like to call a "new-age" or "reformed" Gaulism- a new movement that embodies the ideals of traditional Gaulism- doing everything with the Grandieur of France in mind.

Striking and not at all Gaulist is the way Sarkozy has somewhat strayed from traditional Gaulism by medling in domestic politics/affairs but traditional Gaulists and perhaps even Charles de Gaulle himself would argue that this itself is Gaulist because the ideal French leader, who is pure and has the interests of the people of France at hand, is seeking to uphold the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.

Perhaps Sarkozy's tenure as presidency could lead to a new-age/reformed Gaulist movemnt in France???

Look Out Arnold

Apparently, Arnold is not the only German-speaking, justice-spreading, t.v. personality gone politician. Come up and running as the candidate for the German Presidency is none other than Peter Sodann. Sodann is the former star of the show Tatort, a police drama that he played commissioner in for sixteen years. Sodann was nominated by the Socialist left party on the Eighth of October and he will be running in the 2009 Presidential election.

The Socialists nominated Sodann and believe that he will be a president of the people if elected. He is well known and praised as an actor and a manager. Being that the German presidency is a very ceremonial office, Sodann’s past does not really matter. He is a many very interested in society’s ties and apparently that was enough to win the Socialists over. In Germany, the Presidential candidates are not elected by the people, but by the Federal Convention. In the Federal Convention, a secret ballot is passed by members of the parliament and delegates appointed by the state legislatures.

If elected, Sodann will be the first president with such a career behind him. The President in office now, who will be running for incumbency, is President Kohler. Kohler was head of the International Monetary Fund prior to his election. Kohler is highly likely to be reelected in next years election by a thin majority if there isn’t a major change in German politics prior to the election.

Victory for Obama is Sweeter Than Honey for Sarko

The possible victory for Obama in the 2008 US presidential elections may perhaps be the beginning of a peaceful "marriage" between the US and France. Statiscs conducted by TNS Sofres-Logica on October 8, 2008 show that the overwhelming majority of the French "have a crush on" Barack Obama, with only five percent viewing John McCain favorably. The election of Barack Obama is seen by the French as the rebirth of the Frenchmen's ideal of what America should be and the election of John McCain is seen as the continuation of the Bush administration the world, especially France, despises. Sarkozy notably far more different than Chirac, and what some might call an Americanophile, is quoted to have saying "Obama is my buddy." Indicitive of the general opinion of France, even though the two may seem like an unlikely match, it is clear that if Obama is elected to become the next US President it would be favorable for Sarkozy international-relation-wise bridging together the bitter Freedom Fries vs French Fries gap during the Bush Administration.

Laura K.

Sarko to the rescue

In the wake of the global financial crisis job security has become a predominant issue for people in coutnries around the world. Part of President Sarkozy's election campaign revolved around job creation and cutting unemployment to 5 percent by the end of his mandate in 2012. He proposed to inject money into the French economy (175 billion eurors to be precise) which will serve to protect key pillars of the economy and use it as a tool to subsidise jobs. However, when this plan was proposed to the National Assembly not even the majority party seemed very enthusiastic. The general concensus seems to be that Sarkozy cannot tackle a problem of this magnitude but more importantly not being able to tackle such a huge problem alone.

A.B.P

Has Sarkozy Gone too Soft?

Known more for his brutish behavior and staunch stance on cutting back the benefits of the working class in France, Sarkozy is a one though cookie. The quintessential "conservative" and more importantly, the president of a country that has traditional been left leaning; sometimes to the point where the world might call it's actions "radical."

As "conservative" as Sarkozy is portrayed in the eyes of the public, has he suddenly gone soft on us? Sarkozy has decided not to extradite former Italian Red Brigades member Marina Petrella to her native country, where she was convicted in the murder of a police officer. The reason? Out of "compassion" towards her fragile state of health. His decision though, seems puzzling and so un-like the "conservative" Sarkozy the world has come to know and love or hate. Perhaps, Carla Bruni is really "changing" Sarkozy. Whether this change is good or bad, who knows?

Laura K.

UK Bailout Plan.

The UK government is pumping $63bn into RBS, HBOS, and Lloyds TSB. The UK Prime minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling gave a televised speech this morning to reassure investors of their intention to stabilize banks so that they can continue to operate on a commercial basis. The move seems to resonnate well with investors and markets so far have responded positively. One notebale absentee from this so called government investment is Barclays Bank which has opted to raise 6.5bn Pounds without government help from private investors. Although the money being pumped into these banks is tax payers money, this plan would mean tax payers would own 60% of RBS and 40% of the merged Lloyds and HBOS.

Gordon Brown has so far shown exemplary leadership, calling on European member states and the US governemnt to emulate it's plan to weather the financial crisis. Brown's latest moves plays well into his satement a couple of weeks ago during the Labour Party conference that "the government must be a rock of stability for British people during the credit crisis". Despite this move, it is widely believed that the economic slow down is expected to continue take a toll on the economy. Most importantly is the backing Gordon Brwon has recieved from his political rivals including the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Joint Front

After last weeks crazed, money-throwing panic over the European economy was addressed with an every-man-for-himself attitude, Germany is showing a little more cooperation. Despite the fact that Merkel bailed out a bank or two last week, she is now willing to share the burden with the rest of Europe in an effort to come up with a joint response. More specifically Germany and France, the two largest economies of the Eurozone, have decided to take the bull by the horns and work together step by step to overcome the issue. Gordon Brown, along with the fifteen leaders of the eurozone economy, met today in Paris and discussed the idea of using a British-style bailout technique characterized by private banks going semi-national. This seems to be the most favored plan at this point. Merkel said that Germany and France are "on the same path as regards putting in place a concerted and coherent reaction for the eurozone." Though this may be the case, Merkel also made sure to mention the fact that the rules over this project also clearly state that countries have some flexibility in dealing with the subject on a simply national level.

At this point Merkel and Sarkozy have announced that the two governments will participate via total coordination of new measures to beat down the issues presented by the crumbling world economy. The two country leaders have been working hand in hand and telephoning daily. A joint statement was just released welcoming interest rate cuts by the world’s leading central banks. If all else fails, at least we can be rested knowing that Germany and France are getting along very well with each other. Provided, Merkel sticks to the plan.

Help the little guy?

Further to the G7 meeting and the E.U. Big 4 discussions ealier in the week Europe has finally come up with some concrete solutions to tackle the financial crisis we have been faced with recently. President Sarkozy that unprecendented steps have been taken to ensure that no large institution will will be allowed to crumble. Governments within the Euroo Zone have pledged to guarantee loans in banks till the end of 2009. This deal spearheaded by the French government will ensure that larger European instituion will remain in sound, wconomically speaking. However, size is relative and the E.U. is not limited to those who use the Euro. I am wondering if this deal will help bail out local banks (which are incomparable in terms of revenue when looking at Western mamoth financial houses) in the newly admitted E.U states.

A.B.P

Sailing Rough Seas.

The July 7 bombings prompted the UK government to make radical changes in it laws especially with relation to terror suspects. The number of days allowed for Scotland Yard to detain and question terror suspects has been a subject of controversy. The current counter terrorism bill allows the police to detain and question terror suspects for up to 28 days but PM Brown is seeking to extend this to 42 days, a move which barely made it past the House of Commons by 315 votes to 306 but is expected to be defeated by the House of Lords with Brown threathening to invoke the Parliament Act, a move some have said would be political suicide. So what should Brown do? How would a House of Lords defeat of the bill affect his political future (if he has any)? The next couple of weeks could prove if he his indeed the right person to lead Britain.

CSU Going Down

Before the Beatles even hit it big, the Christian Social Union (CSU) was dominating the state of Bavaria's politics with over fifty percent of the vote. As a matter of fact, during the last election CSU won 60.7 percent of the vote giving them quite a majority of the seats in the state's parliament. Now, however, CSU is in trouble. Last Sunday a new election was held and CSU has obviously lost a lot of its supporters. This year, CSU only won forty-three percent of the vote and which is the first time that it has been under fifty percent since the sixties. This drop is apparently due to the parties recent clumsiness in debates and with policies such as education, the new smoking ban and the scrapping of a multi-billion euro train link amoung other things. Bavarians claim that the party has fallen out of touch. More people are concentrating on being environmentally friendly while less people are going to church. Another fault of the party is that it neglegts the immigrant population in the state. After the vote, party head Erwin Huber and Bavarian Premier Gunther Beckstein both resigned.

CSU's downward spiral is also bad news for the Angela Merkel and the Christian Democrats (CDU). CSU is CDU's sister party. Merkel will be up for election again approximately one year from now and if she loses support in all states in such a fashion she wont have a chance. Change is afoot.

Economic Bombs

France has taken the initiative in her capacity as the presiding member of the E.U. this year to call an emergency meeting in Paris this week to save Europe from the crisis currently facing the U.S. The wealthiest E.U. nations were invited to reach a deal which will inherently try and save European based banks from the same fate as their American counterparts. What they will realise is that it will be very difficult to reach a general concensus of all 27 member states so nothing in theory will happen. Secondly, is it not already too late for France to have called this meeting, the financial crisis in America is by no means contained hence it has probably already affected Timbuktu let alone European economic powerhouses. France ten points for effort-not so many for the solution.

A.B.P.

French Banks Feel the Heat

It appears that the US financial crisis is spilling over to France. This week France had to rescue Franco-Belgian amidst fears concerning loans to local authorities. French economic analysts suggests that the French banks will remain strong since the banks are rarely used for investment purposes. It wouldn’t be surprising however, if something were to go horribly wrong and cause a domino effect of bank collapses if freak incidents like the incident with the French rogue trader were to happen again in an already fragile global economy.

Laura K.