Socialist President elected in France.

[Echonova]

François Hollande won the French presidential election on Sunday, capturing more than 51 percent of the vote to defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and become France's new president, according French television.

Sarkozy, who has held the French presidency since 2007, grabbed 48.1 percent, according to the polls.
Hollande, the 57-year-old socialist challenger, narrowly edged Sarkozy, also 57, in a preliminary election two weeks ago, but since he did not win with an absolute majority, France law required a runoff between the top two candidates.
Sunday's victory means France will have its first Socialist president since since Francois Mitterrand, the country's president from 1981 to 1995. In voting Sarkozy out of office, French voters expressed their discontent over Europe's debt crisis.
http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/_Of6kXBu7qwMn3fvKxgS_Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thelookout/francois-holland-ap-0512.jpg (http://mit.zenfs.com/102/2012/05/francois-holland-ap-0512.jpg)
Hollande waves to supporters on May 4, 2012. (Francois Mori/AP)


French television declared the election for Hollande immediately after the polls closed Sunday. Moments later, Sarkozy told his supporters that he called Holland to congratulate him, and to concede victory.
"I take the responsibility for this loss," Sarkozy said. "I'm ready to become a French person among French people, and more than ever I have the love for my country deeply ingrained in my heart."
Hollande's victory could have far-reaching implications on Europe's debt woes. According to the Associated Press (http://news.yahoo.com/france-votes-hollande-expected-replace-sarkozy-175413123--finance.html), Hollande has promised a 75-percent income tax on the rich and "wants to re-negotiate a European treaty on trimming budgets to avoid more debt crises of the kind facing Greece."
Indeed, Hollande's victory will be seen as a challenge to "German-dominated policy of economic austerity in the euro zone, which is suffering from recession and record unemployment," the New York Times said (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/europe/hollande-and-sarkozy-in-crucial-runoff-in-france.html?hp).
During their respective campaigns, both candidates had promised to balance France's budget within five years.
"It's going to be a long day," Hollande told reporters as he left a polling station earlier in the day. Sarkozy, with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, by his side, voted in Paris, but did not speak to television reporters.
"There will be a handover of power," Sarkozy said Friday when asked if what would happen if he lost. "The nation is stronger than the destiny of the men who serve it."
Hollande is expected to be inaugurated later this month.








Sooooooo, The French people are upset about the debt crisis and elect a Socialist... This will not end well.

[-EnVus-]

Just another Socialist dictator in training....

[Browning151]

So one of his main campaign points was higher taxes on the rich? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, why does that sound familiar? I know I've heard someone saying that same thing recently, I just can't quite put my finger on who it was......

[Relentless]

So one of his main campaign points was higher taxes on the rich? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, why does that sound familiar? I know I've heard someone saying that same thing recently, I just can't quite put my finger on who it was......

LOL

[bu villain]

Very interested to see how this goes. Germany's main ally in austerity is now gone. This is gonna be like a soap opera.

[Browning151]

The Euro is about to take a huge shit on the global economy once it finally tanks, and we have no idea how large the Fed exposure will be when it does. It's going to hit them hard, and we're going to be along for the ride for much of it.

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A socialist beat a conservative Christian????

I'm sorry what? Oh. I've just been told this isn't the United States. Carry on...

[BanginJimmy]

Very interested to see how this goes. Germany's main ally in austerity is now gone. This is gonna be like a soap opera.

Considering the fact that Hollande has already said he is going to increase taxes, mainly on the rich, and increase spending and social programs France is in trouble. Look for Germany to start distancing themselves from the euro in the next year or so as they try to avoid the full impact of the collapse of the euro and likely the entire European economy. France and Germany have been propping the euro up for years, I dont think Germany can support France also.

Here in the US, we are going to be hit pretty hard also. Most major banks are heavily invested in the euro and in European markets. When they start losing money or at least hedging they will start cutting costs here also. The auto industry is also heavily impacted by Europe and may see a significant cut in sales. They may avoid the worst though because their main expansion is in Asia.


Side note

Will we see a major move by the rich to leave France, or at least move a significant portion of their wealth out of France? Because Europe is so connected, how hard would it be for someone to move their wealth to say Germany, yet still do the majority of their business in France?


And again:

Europeans lived in the scope of a socialist empire for decades, why are they so quick to bring those same problems to their own country? Maybe people are just too young to remember or hear stories of Soviets waiting in line for hours for a loaf of bread or a pack of butter.

[-EnVus-]

His wife also looks like a skank lol

[bu villain]

Europe is in between a rock and a hard place. The way I see it, austerity isn't working. Just look at Ireland which has followed the austerity route since the beginning (it is also supposedly one of the most if not the most business friendly country in Europe). Its bond rates are worse than Spain or Italy even though austerity is supposed to restore confidence in the markets. Now the Europeans are willing to try growth which is obviously a lot less painful if it works. However, if it fails they will be in even worse shape so they are essentially doubling down.

I bet Iceland is feeling pretty glad they aren't on the Euro. They simply defaulted on their debt and are back to growing again. No such option for the Eurozone countries.

[BanginJimmy]

Europe is in between a rock and a hard place. The way I see it, austerity isn't working. Just look at Ireland which has followed the austerity route since the beginning (it is also supposedly one of the most if not the most business friendly country in Europe). Its bond rates are worse than Spain or Italy even though austerity is supposed to restore confidence in the markets.

The way I understand it Ireland tried to half ass austerity. They did a lot to limit spending and cut their deficit, but they didnt really dig into the entitlements. I may be wrong on this, I didnt do any research. There is also the possibility that Ireland just doesnt have the land mass and infrastructure to support a large economy. Again, this is all minorly informed speculation.






Now the Europeans are willing to try growth which is obviously a lot less painful if it works. However, if it fails they will be in even worse shape so they are essentially doubling down.

Growth in govt spending on entitlements only means growth in govt debt. There is little reason to believe that exploding debt leads to economic growth. Look at the US for the last decade for more proof. Something like 8T in debt since 2000, yet we have been basicly stagnant since 2007 with more people leaving the job market than new jobs created every month.

Just look at the USSR for a brief look at what is to come. The only difference is that Russia was bankrupted by an arms race with the US. France, Greece, Spain, and Italy are being bankrupted by the laziness of their own citizens.



I bet Iceland is feeling pretty glad they aren't on the Euro. They simply defaulted on their debt and are back to growing again. No such option for the Eurozone countries.

We will see over the long term if Iceland learned their lesson or not. Right now it seems they have, but we all know that surpluses can turn to deficits very quickly.

[bu villain]

The way I understand it Ireland tried to half ass austerity. They did a lot to limit spending and cut their deficit, but they didnt really dig into the entitlements. I may be wrong on this, I didnt do any research. There is also the possibility that Ireland just doesnt have the land mass and infrastructure to support a large economy. Again, this is all minorly informed speculation.

I'm no expert on Ireland either but from what I do know, they have done a lot more than the other troubled countries and don't really have much to show for it.


Growth in govt spending on entitlements only means growth in govt debt. There is little reason to believe that exploding debt leads to economic growth. Look at the US for the last decade for more proof. Something like 8T in debt since 2000, yet we have been basicly stagnant since 2007 with more people leaving the job market than new jobs created every month.

Just look at the USSR for a brief look at what is to come. The only difference is that Russia was bankrupted by an arms race with the US. France, Greece, Spain, and Italy are being bankrupted by the laziness of their own citizens.

I agree it could mean only growth in debt but don't agree that is the only possible outcome. I don't think the last decade in the US proves otherwise. To me it only proves that the spending couldn't overcome the effects of the housing bust and financial crisis. I also don't think the USSR is a good comparison. Dictatorship parading as communism isn't particularly similar to where most of Europe is today.


We will see over the long term if Iceland learned their lesson or not. Right now it seems they have, but we all know that surpluses can turn to deficits very quickly.

Perhaps but even if they do overspend again, the won't feel the pain as much as Europe is since they can always devalue their currency.

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The conservative American view of what socialism is is pretty funny

[BanginJimmy]

The conservative American view of what socialism is is pretty funny

As is the liberal view. Socialism as a theory never seems to match socialism as a practice. Those pesky people that think they deserve more benefits simply because they work harder ruin it every time.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[bu villain]

As is the liberal view. Socialism as a theory never seems to match socialism as a practice. Those pesky people that think they deserve more benefits simply because they work harder ruin it every time.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Which definition of socialism are you using? Even Marx's definition doesn't say everyone receives the same goods and pay regardless of work done.

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Which definition of socialism are you using? Even Marx's definition doesn't say everyone receives the same goods and pay regardless of work done.

There's socialism, then there's the popular far right conservative 'MURICAN definition of socialism, which includes lazy Nazis and Hitler and baby killing and such. I think he's using the latter. Lol