Pave: Wag The Dog

Le jour 42 de Sarko

Then.

C'est forte de cette phase d'écoute et soucieuse de respecter votre effort pour prendre la parole que je me sens aujourd'hui en mesure de vous proposer plus qu'un programme, un pacte d'honneur, un contrat présidentiel...

Oui, j'ai bien dit un pacte d'honneur et de confiance car j'ai aussi compris que vous ne croyez plus à la magie des promesses qui n'engagent que ceux qui les donnent. Vous ne croyez plus aux engagements d'un jour et à la démagogie. Et c'est pourquoi je veux vous dire la vérité, la difficulté de la tâche qui nous attend, et en même temps de ma détermination à l'accomplir avec vous.

[Strengthened by this listening phase and anxious to respect your effort to speak I feel today I can propose to you something more than a platform, a pact of honor, a presidential contract...

Yes, I have clearly said a pact of honor and of trust because I have also understood that you no longer believe in the magic of promises that only interests those who make them. You no longer believe in the current committments and the demagogy. And that is why I want to tell you the truth, the difficulty of the task before us, and at the same time my determination to achieve it with you.]

Ségo,
then aspiring présidentiel, lying very prettily
about the integrity of the PS platform
and her committment to it
VILLEPINTE February 11, 2007 (desirsdavenir.org)

Now.

Il faut que les socialistes aient le courage de remettre en cause un certain nombre de dogmes et de slogans pour vraiment inventer le socialisme du réel et du 21ème siècle.

[Socialists should have the courage to question a certain number of dogmas and slogans to really invent a realistic socialism for the 21st century.]

Ségo,
présidentiel wash-out getting real
June 24, 2007 (TF1)

That blinding insight comes only some several months late. Usually all the dogma-slogan questioning is done before the campaign starts spouting dogmas and slogans. It appears Ségo's original strategy was to somehow get elected then sort out what she actually believed and what the PS stood for.

MORE DIVORCE FOR THE FRENCH SOCIALISTS

June 19, 2007 (Rue89) - First came the announcement that Socialist candidate for President Ségolène Royal is splitting with her companion François Hollande, the leader of the French Socialist Party. Less than 48 hours later there's news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a leading contender for Socialist leadership, will be quitting the Socialist Party's policy committee.

Speaking to reporter Jean-Michel Apathie on RTL radio Tuesday morning, Strauss-Kahn, a former Finance Minister and Socialist moderate, said he deplored the personal quarrels in the Socialist Party and its obsolete policies, which he described as "at least ten or twenty years out of date". Off the record, though, Strauss-Kahn also said he would probably resign soon from the Socialist Party's leadership committee...

According to Apathie, Strauss-Kahn also described his work at the Socialist Party leadership office as "spending two hours to decide where to put the comma on a press release which nobody will read." He added, "It isn't fun any more."

Some analysts suspect that Strauss-Kahn may be planning a swift return to party leadership.

He's right. Nobody reads the PS press releases.

LES FRANÇAIS PRÉFÈRERAIENT DSK
À SÉGOLÈNE ROYAL À LA TÊTE DU PS
[THE FRENCH WOULD PREFER DSK TO SÉGO AS HEAD OF THE PS]

PARIS 21 juin 2007 (Challenges.fr/Reuters) - Dominique Strauss Kahn ferait un bon premier secrétaire du Parti socialiste pour 62% des Français, devançant Bertrand Delanoë (49%) et Ségolène Royal (34%), selon un sondage Opinion Way pour Le Figaro et LCI rendu public jeudi.

Parmi les électeurs ayant voté pour la candidate socialiste lors du premier tour de la présidentielle, la tendance s'inverse: elle arrive en tête (66%), devant "DSK" (60%) et le maire de Paris (53%). Laurent Fabius et François Hollande arrivent dans les deux cas de figure en quatrième et cinquième position, mais très loin derrière.

[Domenica Strauss Kahn would make a good first secretary of the Socialist Party for 62% of the French, leading Bertrand Delanoe (49%) {also see here} and Ségolène Royal (34%), according to a survey by Opinion Way for Le Figaro and LCI published Thursday.

Among the voters having voted for the socialist candidate in the 1er tour of presidential, the trend is reversed: she takes the lead (66%), before "DSK" (60%) and the mayor of Paris (53%). In both instances, Laurent Fabius {and here} and François Holland come in fourth and fifth place, but very far behind.]

FRANCE'S ROYAL UNDER FIRE OVER LEADERSHIP BID

PARIS June 25, 2007 (WaPo/Reuters) - Royal has indicated she wants to lead the party and become its next presidential candidate in 2012, but opposition to the regional leader's unorthodox style has grown among Socialists.

"Setting up a sort of permanent monarchy where just one person decides -- I won't call that a renovation (of the party)," Socialist senator Jean-Luc Melenchon told LCI television, referring to Royal.

The PS leadership is bored, the members dispirited, and the party in, um, disarray. Ah, M. Melenchon, monarchy might be just the ticket.

PFFT (What is this?): Who's in charge here? ½ | Getting the commas right 4 | Rayonnement français 0