Segolene-Headlines

The big story these days on the left is that Segolène Royal's bid to be the socialist candidate is becoming more realistic by the day - and has reached some kind of critical mass.


Ségolène Royal's opinion poll ratings have surged ahead of all the other likely candidates for next year's French presidential elections partly thanks to her innovative campaigning style on the internet and in magazine interviews.
In to the latest poll, published in Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday, a year ahead of the first round of elections, Ms Royal won the backing of 34 per cent of respondents.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of the ruling UMP party and most probable standard bearer for the French right, was the second most popular politician, with 30 per cent.
The prospect of a "Sarko-Ségo" battle between two such contrasting and colourful personalities has already captivated the French media. (...)
Ms Royal's popularity appears partly due to her novelty as a serious female candidate - the former environment minister appeared on the cover of five magazines last week - as well as her maverick campaigning style. Ms Royal has launched a website called desirsdavenir.org (desires for the future), encouraging the public to contribute to a "participative forum" and promising to adopt the best ideas.
Her critics have argued that her "wiki-programme" has only exposed the hollowness of her ideology but it has certainly aroused the interest of France's internet users.
(...)
However, he added: "Her ideas, which she has largely borrowed from Tony Blair, do not seem to me to be compatible with the Socialist party's increasing drift to the left."
That last theme is being replayed all over the place (there was an article in Libé yesterday purporting to show that she was "borrowing" lots of her programme from the center-right), but let's all remember what she actually said about Blair: he should not be demonised because he actually increased spending on helathcare and education massively...


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