'Let The Euro Die,' Says The Woman Who Could Be The Next French President

[pampango]

http://www.businessinsider.com/let-the-euro-die-says-french-presidential-contender-2011-8

"Let the euro die its natural death," said Marine Le Pen, president of the Front National (FN) and one of the top contenders in the 2012 presidential election.

And she is not some marginal wing nut: In a Harris Interactive Poll in March, she stunned the cozy French political establishment by obliterating current President Nicolas Sarkozy and his top opponent on the left, Martine Aubry. In that poll, which measured the likelihood of success during the first round of the election, Le Pen received 23%, while Sarkozy and Aubry each received 21%, with the remaining candidates far behind.

While her numbers have dropped a bit in recent polls, she has become a formidable and highly media-savvy figure that has already had a huge impact on the election by forcing Sarkozy to defend himself against the specter of a serious attack from the right, which he has done by swerving sharply in that direction.

So, "Let the euro die its natural death" is a statement of major significance, even if she doesn't win the 2012 presidential election. Already, the euro is out of favor with the French lower middle class who blame it for rising prices, low wages, loss in purchasing power, and a host of other issues. And her statement will only enhance her populist appeal.

Marine has distanced herself from some of the wackier (and racist) ideas which her father pursued when he led the National Front. Hope that her poll numbers keep dropping or she will be a formidable opponent in the presidential election. Also hope that she forces Sarkozy further and further to the right to battle her for the right wing vote in the first round of voting.