The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Hollande triumphs in France

Sarkozy concedes defeat as a Socialist wins the presidency for the first time since 1988.

By George Eaton Published 06 May 2012 19:15

France's new Socialist President François Hollande waves as he arrives on stage to give a speech in Tulle, southwestern France. Photograph: Getty Images.

After 17 years of conservative rule in France, a Socialist is finally heading for the Elysée. The official exit poll for the final round of the presidential election gave François Hollande 52 per cent of the vote, with Nicolas Sarkozy trailing on 48 per cent, the first time a Socialist has won since François Mitterrand in 1988. Much to Sarkozy's dismay (he absurdly accused the pollsters of "lying"), he has become the first French President not to win re-election since Giscard d'Estaing 31 years ago.

In a valedictory address to his supporters, minutes after the polls closed, Sarkozy conceded defeat, declaring that "François Hollande is the President of France and must be respected." It was a rare show of dignity from the UMP candidate, who ran a shamelessly populist and demagogic campaign, pandering to anti-Muslim prejudice at every opportunity.

The implications for British politics are significant. Hollande's call for a more balanced approach to deficit reduction (he has pledged to renegotiate the EU's fiscal compact) and his support for fiscal stimulus finally gives Labour an ally in Europe. In his appearance on The Andrew Marr Show this morning, George Osborne attempted to spin Hollande's victory in the Tories' favour by claiming that he is not "anti-austerity". There is some truth to this. Hollande has pledged to eliminate France's 5.2 per cent deficit by 2017, just a year later than Sarkozy did. The high vote for Left Front candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round (11 per cent) showed the desire among some voters for a more radical alternative to austerity. But the irony is that were Hollande a British politician, his support for higher spending would see him branded a "deficit denier" by Osborne.

We'll hear much talk of how Cameron miscalculated by snubbing Hollande (unlike Ed Miliband) when he visted Britain earlier this year. But the truth is that Hollande was never troubled by Cameron's behaviour. His camp openly said that it was not in their candidate's interests to be seen with a British Conservative and that they understood his support for Sarkozy, the leader of the Tories' French sister party.

Both Labour and the Tories will now anxiously watch the effect of Hollande's policies on the French economy, in search of vindication for their respective strategies.

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Tags: French presidential election François Hollande Nicolas Sarkozy

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10 comments

Mon, 2012-05-07 14:46 — hugh markey (not verified)

Spare a thought for Sarkozy. He tried! And there is the silver lining. Jacques Chirac, no matter how decrepit, will be overjoyed that the leetle peepqueek 'as been defeated.
'Allons enfants de la patrie' We can see Jacques all six foot four of him conducting La Marcheillaise. What stirring music! What a farewell song. St Helen, next, non?
We would advise Sarkozy not to go the Inspector Clouseau route. O Kay! The leading lady is usually a lot taller but Sarkozy is in the in the Paul Reynaud. league.

Vertically Challenged

Mon, 2012-05-07 14:37 — Gideon Polya

The complaint from the neocons and corporatists is that France spends too much money on social welfare. However it is quite apparent that under warmonger and Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-beholden Sarkozy France spent much too much money on killing Afghans, Muslims, Libyans and West Africans.

Nicolas Sarkozy had Ministerial roles (2002-2007) and presidential roles (2007-2012) in racist, warmongering French Governments that repeatedly invaded other countries in that period (Cote D'Ivoire, Afghanistan and Libya) as well as providing shameful support for the Zionist-backed US War on Muslims that since 1990 has been associated with 12 million violent deaths or avoidable deaths from war-imposed deprivation, the breakdown being 4.6 million (Iraq, 1990-2012), 5.6 million (Afghanistan, 2011-2012), 2.2 million (Somalia, 1992-2102) and 0.1 million (Libya, 2011-2112), this appalling carnage being reflected in refugees totalling 5-6 million, 3-4 million, 2.0 million and 1.3 million, respectively (see "Muslim Holocaust, Muslim Genocide": https://sites.google.com/site/muslimholocaustmuslimgenocide/ ) .

Good riddance to warmonger Sarkozy who has utterly shamed France. Nicolas Sarkozy and his confreres Bush, Blair, Brown, Cameron, Obama, Merkel, Harper, Howard, Rudd, Gillard and their underlings should be arraigned before the International Criminal Court (ICC) but that won't happen because the ICC is a passive accessory to horrendous US Alliance war crimes.

Mon, 2012-05-07 11:11 — gabriel 9 (not verified)

Leaving the merits of growth to one side, François Hollande in his
speeches inspires something more important... Hope.

Hope that things can get better, hope that there will be a better future!

Not something that can be said of Ed Miliband, Ed Balls or Harriet Harman
as after listening to either of them speak for five minutes all you feel is despair... that there is no alternative, no future, no hope... So it is
not a surprise that the real winner of last weeks local
elections, was apathy!

The Labour party seems to be stuck in the past and lacking vision...
led by dullards, it needs a François Hollande!

Wed, 2012-05-09 12:44 — M. E. (not verified)

"The Labour party seems to be stuck in the past and lacking vision...
led by dullards, it needs a François Hollande!"

It needs Tony Blair again then?

Mon, 2012-05-07 07:12 — rain (not verified)

I don’t wish to be the fly in the ointment. The truth is that France has already pushed tax-and-spending to its limits. The government accounts for an extraordinary 56 per cent of the economy, and the French budget was last in balance in 1974. If state expenditure really had a stimulus effect, France would be the wealthiest country in Europe. The French public is now demanding precisely the high-tax and high-spend policies which caused the recession in the first place. Europe's economic problems are about to get an awfully lot worse. It’s all well and good the French demanding a 30 hour week and retiring at 60, if someone else is willing to pay for French indulgence.

Sun, 2012-05-06 23:27 — Robert Taggart

Fearing France will finnish up like 'Hollande' - FLAT !

Sun, 2012-05-06 21:09 — Davidaslindsay (not verified)

Bring on investment for growth, by no means only in France. It is working in America. But Europe is still mired in the failed neoliberalism of a bygone age.

But Syrizia looks to have equalled or even beaten PASOK, which is like the ever-elusive coalition of all the Hard and Far Left in Britain equally or even beating Labour. The Independent Greeks, the anti-austerity breakaway from the right-wing New Democracy, has also done well, it seems.

What with that in Greece and this in France, a new age is beginning. The tragedy is that Britain, having signalled on Thursday her strong desire to participate in it, will not be able to do so until 2015. It is already happening in America. But we can't have any of it for another three years, despite having a Prime Minister whose party got only 32 per cent of the vote.

Mon, 2012-05-07 04:29 — John Cheese (not verified)

Watch the US socialist get thrown out in November...0bamacare is such a big jump into Statism that the Yanks will not put up with it or the failed Trillions of dollars of outrageously failed spending of taxpayer money. We've never seen this type of administration before. He's done...

Mon, 2012-05-07 09:46 — matthew fox (not verified)

Failed Spending, what was Iraq, a successful spending spree.

You need explain the debts wracked up by Reagan, H Bush and W Bush.

Sun, 2012-05-06 20:07 — Sciamachy

So, they voted for a socialist, as opposed to Le Pen's Front National. Not actually that much difference, it seems: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/roma-f24.shtml