De Villepin appointed French PM

[NashVegas]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4595423.stm

Starting a new thread, as many DUers are familiar with DDV already, and there may be some cheering.

[Fridays Child]

1. Congratulations to De Villepin. He'll be a great PM.

[rayofreason]

17. Great PM?....

....Somehow I don't think so.

The whole French political class except for Fabius on the Left and de Villiers and le Pen on the Right has just been handed its hat by the French electorate. Anybody in the PM position will be screwed. Chirac is at 30% approval and Raffarin was at 20%. Pity the poor bugger who steps into that mess.

I wondered if Chirac would give it to Sarkozy just to undermine him in the long run, but his bitterness toward his erstwhile protege got in the way I guess.

[wellst0nev0ter]

2. Remember: No Force-Feeding Any NAFTA Like Programs

I wish him many happy years of tormenting right-wingers :evilgrin:

[aneerkoinos]

4. Monsieur de Villepin

is a right-winger (trad. conservative methinks) and an aristocrat.

But better choise than the evangelist of neoliberalism, Sarkozy.

[Vladimir]

10. I think its a choice borne out of the fear

that Sarkozy would actually do something - but Chirac is fucked either way. The big question, for me, is whether the Franch left are going to be able to stop the neo-Thatcherite reforms when Sarkozy tries to push them through, as it seems inevitable he eventually will. The battelgreound is going to be the picket line as much as the ballott box.

[aneerkoinos]

21. French left

Before French left can stop neoliberalism, it needs to get it's own act together. Socialdemocrats (PS) and Greens, whose leadership said Yes but majority of supporters No need to renounce neoliberalism, shift left and start looking for a real and credible alternative.

Only viable alternative to Global capitalism and race to the bottom is of course socialist internationalism which is not afraid to speak about political control over productive means (United Socialist States of Europe!), any and all forms of nationalism are unable to put up any effective resistance. IMO what this referendum and the debate preceding it shows that political consciousness and realization of this have taken big leaps ahead. How big, remains to be seen...

[leftchick]

3. Do I Remember Dominique?

:loveya:

[NashVegas]

5. LOL

I kinda figured this would send a certain part of the DU contingent into a *swoon.*

[leftchick]

7. yep! That would be me swooning here....

:loveya:

[Southsideirish]

13. Me, too!

[malaise]

6. Th left wins here

He was very vocal against the Iraq invasion.

[Mass]

9. No, you are wrong

De Villepin is more of the same pro-business, anti-people, right-wing policy.

When it comes to foreign policies, Chirac and Bush are in perfect agreement.

I can tell you that the French left is outraged by this choice that shows that Chirac is going to continue his policies, after a third lost election.

[rayofreason]

19. Yep..

..but those who don't know him will applaud anyway. Sometimes I just have to laugh when I see the level of undertanding implicit behind a post.

[Mass]

25. It is amazing how people can speak about subject they do not know.

[Mass]

26. I meant economic policies not foreign policies

[Frederik]

37. Um, whatever you say...

"Chirac and Bush are in perfect agreement"
:rofl:

Villepin has been chosen because he's a Chirac loyalist, bien sûr. He's not a leftist by any standard, but he's not going to implement Sarkozy's Thatcherite, pro-business reforms either. He will probably initiate some Keynesian-style public programmes and thoroughly breach the Stability and Growth Pact criteria of 3% of GDP budget deficit (already surpassed). Which I think may be as good an idea as any.

[Mass]

40. If you want to believe it, fine,

ROFL myself.

De Villepin is not a leftist by any standard. Chirac would not even choose a centrist for this position. But he is as probusiness as Sarkozy, as not at all for Keynesian-style public programs.

Anyway, Sarkozy will apparently be at the Interior, which is the second highest post in the government, which means that he will have a lot of influence. De Villepin is nothing else than a puppet for Chirac.

[Igel]

20. The Iraq invasion is the only issue that the left has?

Since France isn't involved, and the invasion took place, it's rather a moot point in many respects. The invasion is rather like a basketball: you can put the ball through the hoop, but it produces neither food, nor shelter, nor clothing--just points, and maybe a modicum of entertainment.

Surely the left in France must have some other issue, however minor, that doesn't place US politics at the core of domestic politics. Perhaps unemployment, the work week, health care, nuclear power, global warming, education, social services, EU integration, job flight ... ?

[Frederik]

38. Yes, but left and right are relative

Chirac and Villepin, though Conservatives, are to the left of some US Democrats on many of those issues. Villepin is to the left of Sarkozy (who is more Thatcherite, Anglo-Saxon) on economic issues.

[bicentennial_baby]

8. Woot for de Villepin!

Woo-hoo! :loveya:

[JNelson6563]

11. I quite enjoyed him

when the Iraq war was being pushed at the UN. He was very eloquent. Such a lovely contrast to our band of thugs.

Julie

[ElsewheresDaughter]

12. oh la la!!! Congratulations France!!!!

[maddezmom]

14. AP: Villepin: a Diplomat and Man of Letters

By ANGELA DOLAND, Associated Press Writer
12 minutes ago



PARIS - Poet and politician, silver-haired statesman Dominique de Villepin captured the world's attention with an impassioned speech in 2003 urging the United States not to attack Iraq and by flying around the world rallying opposition to the war.


Villepin, 51, was named prime minister of France on Tuesday, the latest leap in a charmed career as foreign minister, writer, trusted adviser to President Jacques Chirac and, since last year, interior minister.

The patrician Villepin was an unusual choice to be France's top cop: Chirac hoped the job would give him more street credibility with voters. But Villepin left his strongest mark as foreign minister in 2002-2004.

At the Security Council, U.N. delegates broke protocol to applaud Villepin in February 2003 after he argued that war should be a last resort.

~snip~
more: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050531/ap_on_re_eu/france_villepin_profile_1

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Can anyone French say if there's been a PM who hasn't been elected before?

I assumed that a post as powerful as Prime Minister would be filled from an elected office - parliament, or at least a mayor of somewhere. Has this happened before?

[Laughing Mirror]

22. Yes. Chirac named Jospin PM in 1997

when parliament (Assemblé Nationale) was dissolved. Jospin was head of Socialist party, which was the majority party.

[Mass]

24. Jospin had been in the parliament for a while at this time.

[Laughing Mirror]

29. He lost the seat he had held in the assembly about 5 years in 1993

and ran unsuccesful bid for president two years later in 1995 against Chirac. It was when Chirac dissolved the assembly in 1997 and the socialists won the majority that Jospin became PM.

[Mass]

30. Yes, but he had been elected at the assembly from 1981 to 1993.

then reelected in 1997. So he had been elected by French people for a national function a number of times, which is not de Villepin's case.
De Villepin has never been elected to anything. I do not think he has even run for any political function. He is by definition a technocrat.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique_de_Villepin

[Laughing Mirror]

32. Are you sure he was re-elected in 1997?

I don't remember it that way. Elected for deputy?

[Mass]

33. Yes, he was reelected in 97 in Haute Garonne.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Jospin

[Laughing Mirror]

35. Yes, you're right. He was reelected Deputy of Haute-Garonne

I was misreading. Thought you meant he was elected PM. Sorry for misunderstanding.

[Mass]

23. yes, some PM were never elected before they become PM

While Jospin was elected when he was named by Chirac in 97, Barre was named by Giscard in 78 when Chirac resigned as PM and I dont remember him being in the parliament at the time.

[Laughing Mirror]

31. Jospin's party won the majority when Chirac called for the elections

hoping to shore up his conservative party, but that tactic backfired on him and he named Jospin PM, since the PM is generally the person who is the head of the party that gets the majority of votes.

[Mass]

34. And De Villepin was the one who pushed for new elections.

Not a very good side for his political acumen.

As for Jospin, see my answer above. It is very rare that a head of a party does not run for legislative elections.

[Laughing Mirror]

36. De Villepin

Proud aidor and abettor of the US coup in Haiti last year.

Thanks for precisions on Jospin.

[KoKo]

15. Great News for those of us who remember him from the Iraq War

Resolution times here on DU.

[xxqqqzme]

16. ooooo - yes, one very handsome man

I sent him an email, after his UN address. I thanked him for giving me a voice at a time when my country had abandoned me and refused 2 listen 2 mine.

[Mass]

27. This is very bad news for France, as de Villepin is as bad a choice

as Sarkozy is. De Villepin has been named for his loyalism toward Chirac.

There was very little chance that Chirac would come with a good choice, but this is more of the same.

[rayofreason]

28. Financial markets are not Cheering!!!

The euro is down on the news of De Villepin's appointment as PM.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/41125fce-d1bd-11d9-8c82-00000e2511c8.html

Market-oriented folks don't like him, socialist-oriented folks don't like him---
The only one who does like him is Chirac, and a few folks who think that he is handsome and suave. Not the best recommendation in my book.

[Frederik]

39. Financial markets had been hoping for Sarkozy

who is more of a pro-business kind of guy, itching to implement market-friendly reforms in France and dismantling the welfare sate. Villepin is more of a Keynesian, so definitely a better choice if you ask me. If the euro weakens it will be good for European exports anyway. The stability and growth pact has been a straightjacket that even the last EU Commission president called "stupid".

From the UMP camp, I think Villepin was as good a choice as any after what happened yesterday. His weakness is of course that he has never been elected to any political position, so one could say he lacks democratic legitimacy. And he's definitely an elitist, which most Frenchmen don't appreciate too much. But his standing up to the US in the UN two years ago was very popular.