It always matters (a bit) who the elected politicians are, as they have the power to shape the future of any country. The problem is that their capabilities are limited because of two obstacles. The first is the limited number of years they can rule. It is hard to find a politician who would bother to act on trends that cannot be changed successfully within his/her 4-5 year term.
Still, we should grant some confidence to the winner of the French presidential elections. Suppose that their opinions, probable actions and personality would really count. As far as my understanding goes, it seems Mr. Sarkozy is the more experienced politician. (I don’t hold it against him that his ancestry is Hungarian either.)
On the other hand, Ms. Royal is a woman, and I have always trusted women more than men. When we read today that the two had won the first round, my wife told me I should root for Ms. Royal over Mr. Sarkozy. There are so many men in politics, let’s give a chance to a woman. That is a good argument. Hélas, I do not have the right to vote in France.
All in all, it’s a tie, if you ask me. The fact that he comes from the right and she from the left would turn my sympathy towards her, if – if – left and right still mean anything in the politics of developed European countries. But I do not see dramatic differences anymore.
After we solve the problem of the presidency, the next question to address is this: Is France doomed to decline? Well, naturally. Show me one country that is not doomed to decline, while the world carries enormous arsenals of arms, not to mention global warming (actually, we did, see the previous question of PostGlobal).
Go, Ms. Royal, go!
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