New School Politics

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Sarkozy seems to be having a rough week. It was discovered that his son is secretly involved in the French rap world - the very world that Sarkozy inflamed both as Interior Minister and President. The rapper that Pierre Sarkozy (Nicolas Sarkozy’s son) works with previously wrote a song calling for people to vote against Sarkozy in the election. On top of this newest drama, there is the older news of Sarkozy’s highly publicized relationship with Carla Bruni, a model turned singer. The opposition to what the French see as frivolous media-pandering in a time when the French economy is looking grim has been reflected in the recent drop in Sarkozy’s approval rating. Apparently many French feel that Sarkozy is spending too much time enjoying himself, and not enough time doing his job. (Ironic?) His approval rating currently stands at 48%, a sharp drop from the 65% approval rating he had in July, and his stock looks to continue dropping, courtesy of an economic announcement that he made today.

It seems that Sarkozy has gotten it into his head to tax the internet and mobile phones in France. This is clearly a bold move, considering that policy experts note that Internet access drives a country’s growth-clearly the fact that France’s economic growth is projected to lag behind that of the other Euro countries for the 3rd year in a row doesn’t faze Mr. Sarkozy. Sarkozy is proposing what he calls and “infinitesimal” tax on internet and mobile “telephony” in order to cover his other proposal: the removal of commercials from public television broadcasting. This measure is an attempt to save the television and other mass media industries that are quickly being outpaced by the internet.

France currently has cheaper internet access and a higher percentage of homes with high speed connections than the average for the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development). Sarkozy was widely welcomed in the US when he was elected last year because he was seen as having the financial skills to reverse what have been lackluster years for the French economy. However, he’s proven to do anything but this. His Internet Tax proposal would place undue burdens on the growth of an already struggling country. If the television industry is no longer able to provide and compete, consumers should not be forced to carry its carcass on their shoulders. But, as Sarkozy’s affair with Bruni has shown, he’s really just looking out for himself, not his country - a great idea for an investor, but not the leader of a country.

On one last note, Sarkozy announced also today that the 35-hour work-week must be abolished. He actually acknowledged that the severely restricted hours might be hurting France in the global market! Good job Sarkozy- and good luck!

Popularity: 31% [?]

Once again, Palestinians are dying. This time, however, they’re not actually being killed by the Israelis. No, this time, it is Fatah vs. Hamas for the control of the Gaza Strip, a tiny piece of land in the West of Israel. Fatah, often considered the more “moderate” of the two main Palestinian parties, was defeated in the 2006 elections by Hamas, the far more militant group that is now the majority party in the Palestinian Authority. After the elections, the Saudis brokered a deal in an effort to prevent exactly what is happening at the moment. Under this deal, Fatah ministers would serve in a Hamas-dominated government. The latest news it that the President of the Palestinian Government, a member of the Fatah party, has decided that Fatah ministers will no longer take part in the government if the shooting does not stop.

The fighting throughout the day could be tracked by the content on a Palestinian TV station, which, at one point, played music supporting Hamas, and, at another, played music supporting Fatah. With dozens of men already dead, the area is slipping even further towards civil war. Hamas has more men and guns, and observers generally note that it will not be long before Hamas controls Gaza completely. This could have international consequences.

The goal of this coalition government was to secure international aid/recognition and to stop the fighting between the factions. Clearly, neither goal has been accomplished. Nearly every Western nation prefers the relatively moderate Fatah to Hamas, which is widely regarded as a terrorist organization. For once, however, Israel seems reluctant to intervene and the Israeli government is facing its own stability issues at the moment. As the violence becomes more extreme, some are advocating the deployment of a multi-national peace-keeping force.

This force should not be deployed. Israel is clearly in the wrong with its imperialistic attitude toward its Arab neighbours, but if the Palestinians want a nation of their own, they must prove that they can govern it without terrorizing their citizens. Gaza, small as it is, was given to the Palestinians to run, not to blast to pieces. In the short term, refuge must be offered to Palestinians fleeing Gaza until the area is stabilized. If Fatah and Hamas really want to blast themselves to pieces, no international peace keeping force is going to stop them; they will unite long enough to terrorize the peacekeeping troops and then turn on each other as soon as they are left alone. Egypt has also offered to broker a deal between the factions, but such a deal would be ineffective, just as the Saudi agreement has been. In the long run, the only way to solve this issue will be for Israel to get serious about economic opportunities and equality for the Palestinians.

Popularity: 49% [?]

France was once the country of change, of revolution, of new ideas.  It hasn’t been so in a while now, but with the first round of Presidential elections coming up on May 6th, things could change in France for the first time in decades.

France has a semi-presidential government, with both an elected President and a selected Prime Minister.  The defining characteristic of this government, however, is the concept of dirigisme.  Dirigisme involves a high level of government involvement in the economy, and the French government has historically been very involved in the transportation and infrastructure sectors in France.  Although the French government has been loosening its grip since the early 90’s, Socialist tendencies still abound in the French marketplace.  For instance, there is a 35-hour workweek and employers have a very hard time firing employees. (Until recently, there was a fine for businesses who fired elderly workers.)

All these Socialistic restraints are slowing down the French economy. The GDP growth this past year was 2%, below the EU averager of 2.8%, and is expected to fall even further to 1.9% next year.  The unemployment rate has been hovering just below 10%, which is high even for EU standards.  Taxes are also far above the average EU values and certainly above anything one might expect to see in a laissez-faire economy.  While dirigisme may have originally been an appropriate response to the massive stresses WWII placed on France, its population, and its economy, it is now outmoded and a serious threat to the continued growth of the French economy.

So where do the elections come in?   Lire le reste de cet article »

Popularity: 52% [?]