Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Politics, French Style

If I had to choose one thing to illustrate the difference between American and French political culture, it would be the absence in France of tabloid news as we know it in the States. No shouting matches on Fox News. No caricatural headlines on the front cover of the NY Post. That kind of coverage doesn't exist here, because that kind of politics doesn't exist here. Politicians are judged for and take pride in their debating skills, so talking points are unheard of. Questions are for the most part answered, not redirected. Issues are addressed.

This concern for preserving the sanctity of the political arena is reflected in the laws governing the election, which are designed to both minimize the advantages that accrue to major-party candidates and encourage healthy political discourse. Take campaign financing, for example. There's a strict ceiling on campaign spending, 50% of which is reimbursed by the state for anyone who gets more than 5% of the vote in the first round of elections, with a fixed amount for those that don't. Corporations and legal entities other than private individuals are forbidden from making campaign contributions. And commercial advertising isn't allowed.

Equality of media access is guaranteed, which means more than just evenhanded news coverage. Every night leading up to the election, a different candidate is interviewed for 10 minutes following the prime time evening news, with the order of appearances determined randomly. So by the time people vote, they've heard each candidate a couple of times discussing at length and in depth the various issues confronting the country.

The only requirements for appearing on the ballot are the eligibility to vote and hold office, and the signatures of 500 locally elected officials (not necessarily endorsements), allowing a host of minor political parties and radical candidates to be represented. (Consider that in 2002, there were sixteen candidates in the first round, which contributed to the splintering of the left's vote and allowed Le Pen to slip into the second round.)

So much for the playing field. Now how about the teams? To most American observers, the most striking feature of the French political landscape is the degree to which it's skewed to the left. The Communist Party still holds seats in the National Assembly. The Trotskyite party known as the League of Communist Revolutionaries is not only taken seriously, its candidate in 2002, a 28-year old mailman named Olivier Besancenot, won over 4% of the vote in the first round. (In all fairness, he's extremely articulate and a skilled debater.) Another Trotskyite named Arlette Laguiller, who has run in every presidential election since 1974 under the banner of the Worker's Struggle party, won 5%. In fact, if you add up the vote total of the various extreme leftwing parties, you end up with roughly 18% of the first-round vote. Throw in the Greens' 5% and you're looking at almost a quarter of the French electorate comfortably to the left of Dennis Kucinich.

But with the exception of François Mitterand in 1981 and 1988, no Socialist candidate has been able to garner the support of the French radical left, and Ségolène Royal won't be any exception. There's been some talk about a unified radical candidate for this year's election, but with the exception of Arlette, who's running again, there hasn't been any announcements. After the debacle of 2002, though, it's unlikely that people will be as frivolous with their first-round votes this time around.

Next up, a rundown of some of the issues on people's minds, the candidates' programs, and why Americans should care.

Posted by Judah in:  La Presidentielle   

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