Democracy 101: The Battle for France's soul (part 1)

It's been a long time coming, but it was perhaps worth it.
I remember back in the spring of 2007, at the end of my stay in France. I was riding in the back seat of a car. It was election day, and somehow even if all of us in the car, didn't know the final results, a bitter taste had filled our mouths. The campaign was great propaganda campaign on the part of the right. The right united under the effigy of Nicolas Sarkozy (populistic, dogmatic neo-liberal, one-percenter) had capitalized on the fragmentation of French society. He had used an almost "racist" rhetoric to sway the Front Nationale's (extreme right party) natural base. We knew that the worst was to come. And utter silence nothing more, nothing less had built up to an unbearable point.
"And now we can announce with certainty that Nicolas Sarkozy the UMP (French right wing party of Gaullist heritage and now under the claws of neo-liberal dogma) has won the presidential second round ballot with 53% of the vote".
There was almost a generalized outburst of "Merde" in the car. And then one of us said "that's not a thin margin at all, what were they thinking". The conversation then was centred around the weakness of the left and how, the old guard of the socialist party did not do enough to make electoral victory a certainty.
That was true. The inner fighting, that characterized the French Socialist Party, was horrid and with out doubt was a factor. But what we didn't really comprehend that evening as we rolled throughout the valley of the Rhone... it was something bigger, then just a mere election.

BBC November 2005

The story begins in 2005. France was a ticking bomb. The last 10 years on the social and "racial" level have been comparable to the 60's in the United States. The 2nd and 3rd generation of immigrant populations were fed-up with their living conditions. The "Ghettoization" of France was in full steam. And yet it appeared to many outside of the mainstream everyday life of politics and social activism, as if it was life as usual.
But since the mid 1970's the ticking bomb, was ticking. And 2005 was just one of many eruptions to come.  What sparked this widespread and violent protest against the "xenophobic" and "racist" policy of the French government? The death of two teenagers in one of the suburbs of Paris. Both were found electrocuted after hiding near a power generator.
It's not so much that this was an extraordinary happening in France or in the suburbs to the contrary. Many tired to pin down the protest as influenced by "islamic radicals" and "foreign organizations", the extreme right party of Jean-Marie Lepen (France's own George Wallace) linked the riots to Al-Qaeda. Now in our times, these times doesn't that seem familiar? Maybe Bashar Al-Assad uses the same rhetoric?
Instead of looking the problem straight into it's eyes, the French governing political class decided to find incoherent excuses to defeat their legitimate "oppression" of the Suburb dwellers.
But who gained the most from these riots? It's answer with a silver underline was Nicolas Sarkozy (at the time minister of the interior).

They are vandals, they are racailles (in french means immigrant scum) I'm persistent and convinced of that.
-Nicolas Sarkozy
Source: http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2005/11/11/nicolas-sarkozy-persiste-et-signe-contre-les-racailles_709112_3224.html 


Nicolas Sarkozy was the up and coming star of the centre-right political spectrum. He was young, energetic, "hype", but little did anyone know the danger that he might of presented at the time.
Sarkozy, changed-up the French political scene forever. The divorce in French between religion/culture/ethnicity and the functioning of the state was always paramount. The centre-right and centre-left wing parties always defended the importance of non-religious republic rooted in the declaration of human rights and the heritage of a radical impartial and independent state system. But Mr.Sarkozy was more intelligent then the average politician, he was always more ruthless.
Sarkozy saw the fault-lines that existed in the French political landscape, and was the first one to use those political fault-lines in major manner to gain political points.
Nicolas Sarkozy is to France, what Berry Goldwater was to the United States. They both brought a new radical ideology (sometimes flirting with the extreme-right) into the political scene, the difference between the two, one was crushed, the later became head of state.
The fact is that today, is that France is caught in between two very violent and radical movements, Revolution that has always been a vector of progress throughout French history and Counter-Revolution.

But Sarkozy (left) only poured verbal kerosene on the flames, dismissing the ghetto youth in the most insulting and racist terms and calling for a policy of repression. "Sarko" made headlines with his declarations that he would "karcherise" the ghettos of "la racaille"-- words the U.S. press, with glaring inadequaxcy, has translated to mean "clean" the ghettos of "scum." But these two words have an infinitely harsher and insulting flavor in French. "Karcher" is the well-known brand name of a system of cleaning surfaces by super-high-pressure sand-blasting or water-blasting that very violently peels away the outer skin of encrusted dirt -- like pigeon-shit -- even at the risk of damaging what's underneath. To apply this term to young human beings and proffer it as a strategy is a verbally fascist insult and, as a policy proposed by an Interior Minister
Source: http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2005/11/why_is_france_b.html#comment-11026593

So the French 2012 presidential election is set in such a scenery. After the "debacle" of Sarkozy presidency, the left is reunited and has like a phoenix has been reborn from it's ashes. The opportunity for a new left leaning progressive government is higher then even in modern french history since the election of François Mitterrand, and if France does elect a new left government, France being one of the most influential countries in the European Union could re-set the EU on the right track and maybe unlash a generalized left wave throughout Europe.
I will be staring by, waiting, commentating about the occurrences of French politics. This might be the start of something truly historic.

Sky

Greece: Or the death of an unborn "social" European Union

Imaginary flames surround Athens tonight. But they also surround the "eternal city" tonight.

Rome was the birth place of so many things, but in the history of the European Union more specifically it was the birth place of the accords of Rome, that are the "birth declaration" of the European Union.

Since the out burst of the economic global crisis in at the end of 2008, Europe has more and more set it's "fundamental" values (in the sense of the values at core of it's foundation). The construction of a federative European association of nations. During the 19th century after the Napoleonic wars, the revolutionary experience flared throughout Europe, many intellectuals built the idea of a unified Europe, these ideas ran throughout the common European bloodline. The fact is that the ideological source of the European Union, has gone dry. The actual EU as an institution has almost nothing to do the founding principals of the "European Ideal".
The actual European Union is nothing more then a free market zone and a "neo-liberal" transnational authoritarian regime. I will not come back on to the toppling of the democratically elected governments of Greece and Italy. But this is just the visible tip of the iceberg. The fact is that because of the disinformation firewall that has used the myth of economic prosperity, of peace and of democratic values.  It's time to get the information out there, and to destroy this firewall.
Since the fall of the Berlin wall, and the end of the bipolar world, the European has started it's quest to perfect it's "neo-liberal" union.
In eastern Europe, the European Union on behave of the idea of integration into the union, imposed a very severe and "undemocratic" integration criteria. In Poland, the EU hijacked the Solidarnosc union/political movement, and forced them to water down their social democratic values and mix those up with "neo-liberal" dogma.
And throughout eastern Europe, this was common currency. Eastern Europe had lifted itself from underneath the iron curtain, and it was hustled down by the new "bleu stared" curtain. Many still tend to believe that the fall of Communist regime in the URSS, meant that the whole of the left leaning ideologies were condemned to death. I don't believe that affirmation whatsoever. I believe that now, more then ever in this time and context in the general history, that arrogance has been defeated, and is in retreat everywhere... except in Brussels and in Strasbourg.
The "Brussels Consensus", has shown over these past months it's dictatorial face. How can you pass austerity bills and plans, when in front of the very place your are signing those bills/plans into law, massive protesting is ongoing and a battlefield has been entrenched.
That's exactly what has happened through Europe, fault line have been created, and the EU has no plans to soften those tensions. Because the EU generates it's strength from those same fault lines. The truth is that the "Eurocrats" have no will whatsoever to see a unified Europe, the ideal Europe that was dreamt by its founding fathers.
So the tend continues, between the "1st" set of European Union nations, and the "2nd" and "3rd" sets. It almost seems like an elaborate plan of power transfer from the secondary and tertiary nations. As we have seen the European power is centralized in the hands of an Oligarchy. And since the 1970's there has capitalization of power into the hands of an elite, of cooperative/financial/multinational interest.
The European Union of it's founders wishes, was supposed to be. So we actually need a revolution, in the real sense of the term, a revolution to rotate the European Union back to it's rightful directory, and it's righteous "ideology".
Today as I finish, this article on the 1st of March. The European Spring is coming.  The links between the Arab spring and the perhaps future European spring, may seem to many as incoherent, let me say it bluntly it's not that is not my point of view.
Many may, say that those peoples were fighting against undemocratic regimes. But isn't our fight a fight against the undemocratic deals struck by politicians in our name? After the Arab spring, one of the questions that passed through my mind and since it have has nested it's egg and they have hatched: Do our "democratic" regimes differ realistically from the "authoritarian/oligarchic" regimes of North Africa?
Our manifestations are met with less violence, but aren't they shut down anyways? Do our regimes hear our demands?
The answer to the both of those question are obvious, Yes to the 1st and No to the 2nd. Those answers underline the basic knowledge that questions the legitimacy of a "democratic" regime.
The fact is that for some time, a trend has been that D.O.I.N. have been popping up through out the western world. Neo-Liberalism is unpopular, true story. From Tunisia, to Poland, from Bolivia to the Congo, the Neo-Liberal project has been met with fierce hostility. In one of my "elder" articles I explained that from my point of view, Neo-Liberalism as a global power machine was built in two times. Imperialism on the colonial scale, was the first from of Neo-Liberalism that profited the more "developed" countries industrially. Then came Neo-Colonialism came hand in hand with Neo-Liberalism. It's was ironically and cynically easy for the post-colonial and the "leader" of the free world to topple elected governments and instate dictatorial regimes, that would basically sell off their natural resources for have the market price. That's a good deal right...
But it wasn't enough back at home, unions and the political left and the "fringe" (as if the neo-liberal policy wasn't fringe)  were a block in the path heading to a fully "globalized, Neo-Liberal" world.
So they'd have to cut down.

There will be another article detailing the whole process of transition from the "30 glorious years", during which the social state and grand prosperity. The Keynesian political thinking that was born in crisis period of the 30's, was born with the will to end the enduring burst and collapse system of the global capitalistic system of the age of the great barons (they be of the railways or of high finance). They pushed the world into the hands of an economic recession. With regulation and the construction of an active government role in economics.
The link with the European Union is that, the Union was built in that optic. In the optic of building together economic common prosperity. But today Brussels and Strasbourg are not creating and generating economic prosperity... it's called economic vandalism and destruction.
The fact is that Neo-Liberalism and the political parties linked to Neo-Liberalism (the New Right) only thrive through division and shock.
In Europe very few Right wing political parties access the reign of political control, with a clear and decisive majority.
Because decisive and divisive are not synonyms to the contrary.
Political victories of the New Right, do not unite or make the electorate flock to the polling station. Sarkozy divided electors on the issue of immigration and "national identity".
National identity is another myth of creation, it's a dogma (but that's another post soon enough).
In Holland/Belgium/Danemark/Poland/France/Germany/Italy/Spain "Neo-Liberal" political parties marry with basic "racist islamophobia". Divide the electorate and disintegrate the electorate.
So are these elected "Neo-Liberal" parties legitimate? They are elected with less then 50%+1 of the Nation wide vote.

I guess that it's time to believe in another way of doing politics. Politics don't have to be (excuse my french) a shit-throwing match up between the various political parties or political allegiances. The European Union is a fantastic ideal, just the fact that ideal does exist makes me believe that "pendulum" swings back and forth between regression and progression but always push a bit more on the progress side of things, so even if we feel that no progress is made immediately over the long run progression is a factor, I would say the most important factor.
So it's time to ridden Europe and the world of the Neo-Liberal disease of austerity and divisive politicking.
The "rebellious" geese that once awaken the Romans in the accent times, just before a barbaric tribe of Celts was going to conquer the city during the night in a surprise attack, have awoken today and are screaming at the top of their lungs. It's time to send the financial barbarians packing and their political chosen elite.
We can defend the "eternal" city. We must just awake from our long hibernation. Good news the spring is coming...
TO BE CONTINUED...

Sky