Francois Hollande sworn in as President of France

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Ah well, just to put in a personal feeling, what some pleasant fresh air to see all those poor clowns leaving, and now each time I see Sarkozy I'm like 'oh lol, how come he could have been Président??', but in the same time, each time I see Hollande I'm like 'lol, that's the Président??'. For the latter feeling I had indeed the same one for Sarkozy in 2007, but in a less pleasant way.

Well, will be very interesting now to see if that PS, which remains less annoying than UMP in 90% of cases, will be less pitiful at governing than they were at being opponents. So far, they lean toward trying all most pragmatic solutions at trying to take up challenges we're facing, so this isn't unpleasant, this might even be needed before people consider actual change. That being said, 2 weeks to judge them is a bit short, and one of the 1st criticism I'd do, is that they really will have to do more than most of what they announced so far since the new govt 'we'll cancel this law! and this one! and that one!', that might work during a few months, but in the end people would wait actual proposals I guess, and overall actual results.

And the fact Hollande does everything to do 'look! look! I'm so normal! so modest! the total opposite of Sarkozy!' is amusing, but I guess he will also have to be more than that to be convincing. Either by fully inhabiting the suit of Président of the Vth French Republique (maybe the strongest executive suit all over West), or by clearly establishing a new kind of Presidency, more democratic, with more delegation, anyways something stronger than 'I'm more normal than he was!'.

In case, Hollande/PS doesn't have a clear success in about 2 years, then the electoral headache could be tough for France, and I don't speak of a come back of the UMP...

Let's see, so far, so good, or at least, so far, better than before...

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

(and perfectly expectable, considering the pace at with the UMP is radicalizing its stances).

...yes, this, and also the pace at which UMP, a machine done by and for Sarkozy, could be totally crumbling on the very short term with his defeat. The classical Right in France always had a champion, and worked with a strong leadership mindset. The problem being that the last champion just won by burning everything around him, and this without having enough time to raise a strong 'new generation', that champion also discredited his camp thanks to his shallowness, and made an insane campaign in which he more than ever excited the Far-Right mindset. That's a dangerous cocktail, when the Far-Right is in momentum both electorally, thanks to Présidentielles and regardless Législatives, and in term of 'mood'. Even PS felt forced to flatter that Far-Rightist mood in the last campaign, their attitude regarding the debates on immigration were rather telling.

UMP might very well go back to a small RPR base led by Fillon and/or Juppé, this in autumn or after a very eventual Coppé lead till next elections, with maybe a small UDF wing embodied by people like Raffarin. It all belongs to Marine Le Pen being able to take the space offered to her. Let's see, as I said in an other thread, next important elections about it would be Européennes, and overall Municipales.