| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Anti-Muslim French Presidential Candidate Surge After Sex Charges for Ex-IMF Boss |
| 2011-05-21 |
| The rape charges against former IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn who, like Dominique deVillepin, is a man... are headline news across the world, but as Strauss-Kahn prepares for what could be a lengthy legal battle, France is preparing for a 2012 presidential election -- suddenly without the leading challenger to President Nicolas Sarkozy. Strauss-Kahn, a prominent member of the Socialist Party in France, was predicted to be his party's candidate in 2012 and would have faced off against Sarkozy and his UMP party. Sarkozy, who has been floundering in polls, has been seen as a weak and ineffective president -- a man who promised big change and has failed to deliver. But with Strauss-Kahn almost certainly out of the 2012 race, Sarkozy's biggest challenge could come from Marine Le Pen, a candidate known for her nationalistic and anti-Muslim views. |
| Posted by:Zebulon Thranter9685 |
| #4 If Marine should win could we expect the same reaction from the EU as was seen in Austria a few years ago when Hader(?) won? Somehow I think this could turn out to be very bad for the EU; maybe good for the world? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2011-05-21 14:47 |
| #3 In both cases, the term "man" is somewhat debateable. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2011-05-21 12:45 |
| #2 who, like Dominique deVillepin, is a man... For certain values of 'man' somewhat less than used elsewhere. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-05-21 12:31 |
| #1 No mention that Marine is also tapping into a very deep pool of resentment among French women about how elitist men mistreat them. This is bound up with resentment against the elites of both parties in general, but it has never been given strong play before. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-05-21 12:10 |