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I don't give a damn about elections, but here are a few trends in French politics that might interest those US members of this list who are interested in such things. The NPA has suffered a severe beating in the last elections. As I had anticipated in one of my November posts, if I recall correctly (what's the smiley, oh yes :) , I'm pretty good at predicting such things). The much touted socialist "alternative" garnered less than 3% of the vote, against 8% for "The Left Front" (ex-French CP and dissident members of the PS). Besancenot, their youthful and charismatic candidate, failed dismally. The Trotskyite successor party to the LCR had tried to change its image by claiming that it was "no longer sectarian" and welcomed in its ranks "environmental activists, anti-imperialists, former members of the CP, syndicalists, council communists, with the view of building a party that is determined to fight for socialism, work-floor democracy, anti-capitalism, environmentalism and cooperation with "anti-imperialist" third-world countries ..." I never could get on well with the local NPA, because of their tendency to infiltrate any and all local grassroots movement (from "Decent Housing for All" (DAL) to the "Fair-Trade Movement", and from "Women for Abortion" to the Teachers' Union) and then to worm their way into positions of influence (Financial Officer and/or Secretary) to promote ... voting for the NPA (wow ! that's revolutionary for you !) At present, in my locality, the NPA is negotiating with the "Left Front" in order to salvage its influence. They will probably present a "united front" list (A gauche ensemble) at the next elections hoping to secure some representatives in the PS-dominated city council. I am curious as to the destinies of the "Left Party", but do not believe they will ever be as powerful as the French CP was in the 50s (27% of the vote). The weird thing is, the "left party"'s electorate is not composed of old people nostalgic about the "good ol' days" but of young workers, who were born while the Berlin Wall was being torn down. The party which is being currently carried forth by the winds of popularity is of course the "Greens" who are set to actually overtake the old Social Democratic PS. 18% of the vote ! The "Greens" are all the rage. Who can be against environment-friendly policies in this day and age ? A very large segment of the population voted "Green" in the last elections, mostly young people. Never mind that the French Greens are increasingly removed from the socialist mindset of the old French far-left. The French Greens are not a far-left party and restrict their propaganda to "taxing those who pollute", "combining industrial development with protecting our natural heritage" and "helping the third-world". "We must all, citizens and representatives of business, find ways of producing goods in a way that is less damaging for our environment. The kind of planet we will bequeath to our children should be our top-most priority"... I personally find the Greens' rhetoric quite nauseating. Reminds me of "Eat up your soup ! Aren't you glad you're not living in Africa where children are starving ? How can you have any cake if you don't eat up your soup first ?" ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
