My French nose in your British elections

by Benoit Rajalu

As few of you might have missed, this year is General Election year.

You guys will have the chance to vote for the next tenant of 10 Dawning Street, the nation will be thrilled, the media will be everywhere and advertising agencies will prosper.

Would it be different in France?

Well, let’s consider the situation: you’ve had the same party ruling since 1997, therefore everything that is going wrong must be their fault – the fact that its current leader has as much charisma as an open oyster doesn’t help.

The opposition, even though it is apparently mocked quite often too, seems ready to make the most of the situation.

It would certainly be different in France.

The same party has had the presidency for the last 13 years, but Sarkozy has had the wit of advertising his campaign has one for “change” (sounds familiar?) and after Chirac’s semi-lethargic reign, Sarkozy’s apparent hyperactivity has had everyone thinking we had had a different party elected.

The opposition certainly does crave for power, at least as much as the Conservatives do here, but it has been a little bit difficult to really point out “who” the opposition was lately.

The traditional contender, France’s Socialist party, has been riddled with internal bickering for the last eight years, leaving it with nearly no serious iconic leader to challenge Sarkozy.

The next French general election might therefore be a simple choice between the lesser of two evils.

Actually, in that sense it is not so different from yours then…