Louis writes:>Carrying out the sort of tepid reformism characteristic of the Peoples Front, the "socialist" Jospin has done little to distinguish himself from the bourgeois politicians, so no wonder many workers decided to stay home. <
I agree. I doubt that the Trotskyists in France got the votes they did because of their ability to engage in electoral campaigns. If Chris Burford is right that they are "sectarians," they probably drive people away. But Jospin drives them to protest-voting. Some of that redounds to the left's benefit. If anyone is to be blamed for the relative success of the "extreme left," it's the voters. If anyone is to be blamed for their votes for the left (and for Le Pen), it's Jospin. Here in the United States, where the meaninglessness of voting has attained a high degree, there's a saying that "If given the choice between voting for a Republican and a Democrat acting like a Republican, I'll go for the real thing." That's the sort of logic that drives people away from Jospin -- and toward Chirac, Le Pen, and the left. JD
