I know that I have been told to steer well clear of politics as being a subject well beyond my comprehension, but I thought I might be allowed a brief canter around the paddock before being carted off.
The chief problem in French politics is that it is impossible to win a presidential election unless you are prepared to lie about the state of the country and what you intend to do about it. The result is that, once elected and confronted with reality, the incoming president has no legitimacy or mandate for introducing the reforms that need to be made. I know that the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill and that in the UK David Cameron is far from commanding the allegiance of all, but seen from over here, he did at least sketch out what he planned to do BEFORE he came to power.
The other problem is linked to the presidential regime itself. Here in France the president has almost monarchical powers (much more so than the American president). This was all very well in the days of the ancien régime or even as late as the time of General de Gaulle, but no president today can hope to survive as a "monarch" in the face of ceaseless public scrutiny and media attention. For its part, the French electorate has got to stop looking upon the president as a homme providentiel who can solve all their problems, even as they decry and mock him.
The chief problem in French politics is that it is impossible to win a presidential election unless you are prepared to lie about the state of the country and what you intend to do about it. The result is that, once elected and confronted with reality, the incoming president has no legitimacy or mandate for introducing the reforms that need to be made. I know that the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill and that in the UK David Cameron is far from commanding the allegiance of all, but seen from over here, he did at least sketch out what he planned to do BEFORE he came to power.
The other problem is linked to the presidential regime itself. Here in France the president has almost monarchical powers (much more so than the American president). This was all very well in the days of the ancien régime or even as late as the time of General de Gaulle, but no president today can hope to survive as a "monarch" in the face of ceaseless public scrutiny and media attention. For its part, the French electorate has got to stop looking upon the president as a homme providentiel who can solve all their problems, even as they decry and mock him.
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