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Socialist Francois Hollande wins French presidency

Netto Azure

Netto Azure

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    Socialist Francois Hollande wins French presidency

    [PokeCommunity.com] Socialist Francois Hollande wins French presidency

    Francois Hollande: "French people, on the 6th of May, have chosen change"​

    French socialist Francois Hollande has won a clear victory in the country's presidential election.

    Mr Hollande - who got an estimated 52% of votes in Sunday's run-off - said the French had chosen "change".

    Admitting defeat, centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy wished "good luck" to Mr Hollande.

    Analysts say the vote has wide implications for the whole eurozone. Mr Hollande has vowed to rework a deal on government debt in member countries.

    Shortly after polls closed at 20:00 (18:00 GMT), French media published projections based on partial results giving Mr Hollande a lead of almost four points.

    Nicolas Sarkozy says Francois Hollande must be respected as the new president
    Turnout was about 80%.

    Exuberant Hollande supporters gathered on Place de la Bastille in Paris - a traditional rallying point of the Left - to celebrate.

    Mr Hollande - the first socialist to win the French presidency since Francois Mitterrand in the 1980s - gave his victory speech in his stronghold of Tulle in central France
    Click to expand...

    Wow 80% turnout! That's way higher than the modern historic turnout we had here in the US of 60% lolz.

    After that maid hotel scandal with former IMF director Dominic Strauss-Kahn and Christine Lagarde going to the IMF I was kinda skeptical about Hollande's chances of winning due to his relative anonymity. Especially with the rise of the Nationalist Far-Right candidate LePen being thrown around as kingmaker. But yeah I believe the employment of new canvassing strategies employed here in the US (Who says all we import are dirty campaigning and negative ads? :P) it was enough to tip the 4% margin of Popular vote wins. :D
     
    While I wouldn't have voted for this guy; 80% turnout?
    I wish that we can get that many people involved in our elections.
     
    I know nothing about the policies of any of these candidates. But, I did like how Sarkozy (along with Germany) was trying to spear-head much-needed economic reform through Europe. I don't think France's involvement in that relationship will continue with this leadership change.

    Coupled with Greece's rejection of the bailout, it's going to be a "fun" year.
     
    I'm glad because this means the end of the Merkozy Austerity Duo. Hollande proposed a plan for growth, which includes slowing the budget balancing plans down to allow for less radical measures, with a plan for the European Bank for Investments to help boost the employment, which is hitting historical lows these days.

    All coupled with a 75% income tax and a worldwide European tax on financial transactions, it could mean the end of the hyperliberal (in the European sense of the word liberal as conservative, not in the American one) policies that are freezing Europe in the middle of the crisis.
     
    Damn it... Just Damn it...
    I didn't like both candidates. In the first round I wanted Bayrou to win (a man from the centre). But unfortunately, it's always socialism or UMP that reach the final... That's a real pity.
    So, between Sarkozy and Hollande, I hoped Sarkozy to be our president again... With the economic crisis I don't think a socialist is able to improve our situation (even if Sarkozy isn't better at all). He speaks about "changement", but if it's to provide us a bad changement... No thanks.
     
    Sarkozy's problem, and really the problem with all the governments wrestling with trying to implement austerity measures now, is that it is too much too late.

    Governments should be fiscally responsible. Balanced budgets should be the norm as much as possible.

    Any economic reform should be gradual. You can't do it all at once, that's a tough pill to swallow. Cuts to services and programs, also isn't the only solution
     
    The problem is not having an unbalanced budget- the US and Japan pay 1% interest for long-term yields, which is ridiculously low under any circumstances.

    The problem here is the EU rules forcing the countries to balance their budgets before 2013-2014, which means billions must be cut immediately in the middle of a recession, which means less tax income for the Sates, which means more to cut, which means freezing the economy and causing more jobs to be dropped. The problem is not having an unbalanced budget per se, it's when and how they are trying to fix it.
     
    Went said:
    The problem is not having an unbalanced budget per se, it's when and how they are trying to fix it.
    Click to expand...
    Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.

    Governments screwed up, people bare the brunt of the "fixes". Not fun.

    In Europe, I think part of the problem is the EU and the regulations it brought upon some countries in terms of imports and exports and what they can produce. Portugal for example.
     
    The main problem the European Union has in my opinion is that it established a Monetary Union without accepting the Fiscal Union that comes with it.

    I mean I don't like to say it, but ultimately there needs to be something akin to the US since metaphorially the EU Countries have cut off one of their arms by having a Monetary Union.

    They, the EU countries, can't implement a piecemeal approach to Monetary policy appropriate to each countries economic needs (the so called "PIIGS" employing a loose monetary policy like the US Fed to spur consumption) and relying all on Fiscal Policy to get them out of the hole. With the European Central Bank dominated by German Inflationista's there's no Public entity willing to buy troubled countries assets/national debts so they're beholden to Private bond markets. :/
     
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