I hasten to say that I am using the word "Republican" in its French sense. After last night's results in the French presidential elections, the air was thick with talk of a "republican salute", a "republican victory" and "republican values". After all my years in France I still haven't the faintest idea of what is meant by the word républicain, and I'm pretty sure that no-one else does either! I could be wrong but I don't think that the French thrill to the rallying call vive la République! Vive la France! perhaps, but vive la République? There would be something deeply ironic if they did, given that a French President is probably the nearest one can get to an absolute monarch in the western world...
Greetings Barnaby
ReplyDeleteFrom this side of the Channel and indeed the Pond the impression given by Presidential elections is that they are more affected by the voters' perceptions of the candidates' characters than policies - French people had grown tired of a celeb type president. The nearest equivalent in the UK recently was the election of the London Mayor. Essentially the character of Boris as perceived by the electorate trumped that of Ken.
That's all very well for a mayor but a president can wield real power. For the election of a president to be so driven by the perceptions of characters of the candidates, tends to put the significance of their policies in the shade somewhat as I think the French electorate will come to appreciate a year or two down the line.
Having said that, the policies of the Republican candidate in the USA seem as unattractive as his character seems. Obama's character on the other hand seems more affable than his policies.
In France I might have voted for Sarkozy but in the USA who knows?
As once asking the way in Ireland a few years back the local told me that if "I was wanting to go to Sligo I shouln't be starting from here!".
Hi Jerry. I think you've hit the nail on the head. The French presidential elections are the nearest one can get in politics to a TV reality show and I'm sure this explains why the turnout is so much higher than for the other elections over here (legislative, local, regional and European).
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