• by Ignacio Ramonet
• Thursday, April 12, 2012
• Inter Press Service

Thus far not a single poll shows Sarkozy winning in France's upcoming presidential elections, though the president is a tenacious fighter willing to do whatever it takes to win, at times behaving like an unscrupulous thug or true mercenary. Since he began the campaign, with monumental shamelessness, he ­ the president of the rich ­ has had the nerve to present himself as the "candidate of the people", wielding near-xenophobic arguments to pander to the far right, writes Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le Monde diplomatique en espanol.

In this analysis, Ramonet writes that for the moment socialist leader François Hollande is ahead in the polls, all of which show him sweeping the election. Little known abroad, Hollande is a centrist social-liberal known for his ability as a negotiator and for his difficulty in making decisions. His economic programme is hard to distinguish from that of the conservatives.

However, the candidate of the Left Front, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, showing 14 percent in the polls, is the big discovery of this election. His rallies draw the largest crowds while his speeches are the most rousing of all the candidates. On March 18, the anniversary of the revolution of the Paris Commune, he managed to mobilise about 120,000 people in the Place de la Bastille, something not seen in the last 50 years. All of this should spark a move to the left by Hollande and the socialists, though their current platforms are abysmal. The enthusiasm for Mélenchon is providing new hope for the working class, veteran militants, and the multitudes of young indignados.

*Ignacio Ramonet is editor of Le Monde diplomatique en espanol.

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

Where next?

Advertisement