Socialist Hollande triumphs over Sarkozy in French presidential electiion

The elections in Greece and France will probably rattle markets tomorrow (May 7). Francois Holland has been elected president in France. He is the first socialist president in two decades. The defeat is a humiliation for the incumbent Sarkozy.

Hollande won with between 52 and 53 per cent of the vote. Sarkozy received about 48 per cent. The last polls were close to that with a gap of about 5 per cent between Sarkozy and Hollande. Hollande had led throughout the campaign with Sarkozy being the first incumbent to ever lose a first round ballot!

Hollande vows to renegotiate the fiscal austerity pact a vow that worries EU leaders. Hollande also will increase taxes on the rich and hire some 60,000 teachers. For much more see this article.

Sarkozy still trails socialist challenger Hollande in French election

This is the final campaign day in the French presidential runoff election that takes place on Sunday. This election along with the election in Greece may create new challenges for the EU.

Although Sarkozy has cut Hollande's lead in recent polls he still trails Hollande by over five per cent with little time left until the Sunday vote. Some accuse Sarkozy of moving to the right to capture votes. However the leader of the main far right party Marine Le Pen did not back either candidate in the runoff.

On the recent debate polls showed that more ( 31 per cent) found Hollande more convincing than Sarkozy (29). However this may not have helped Hollande in the polls. Sarkozy claims he has led France through the economic crisis better than many other European leaders. For his part if elected Hollande wants to renegotiate the EU fiscal pact to place more emphasis on growth rather than austerity. For more see this article.

France: Far right candidate polls 20 per cent in presidential race

Although the Socialist candidate Hollande led Sarkozy by 29 to 26 per cent the runoff result is far from certain. The runoff between Hollande and Sarkozy will take place May 6.

The big surprise was the strong showing of Marine Le Pen who broke her father's record in 2002. The leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon finished far behind in fourth at 11 per cent. Bayrou a centrist candidate managed less than ten per cent at fifth.

Le Pen's policy of reserving jobs for French nationals resonated with many as jobless claims are at a 12 year record high. She also wants to jettison the Euro. Right and left populist parties are surging throughout Europe as austerity programs hurt the people.

Unfortunately for Hollande polls show about half of Le Pen's supporters will vote for Sarkozy and only one fifth for Hollande. Hollande wants to focus on growth rather than austerity measures. However who knows what he will do if elected. The Greek socialist Papandreou implemented austerity measures albeit not well enough to avoid being replaced by a technocrat.

Hollande also promises to raise taxes on the wealthy if elected. For more see this article.

German chancellor supports Sarkozy against Hollande in French presidential elections

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel avoids meeting with Francois Hollande the Socialist Party leader who is leading in the French presidential race. She is a strong supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy's bid for re-election. However Sarkozy is not popular and is trailing in the polls.

Apparently other conservative leaning governments in Europe are also going to give Hollande the cold shoulder. As well as Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK hope that Hollande fails in his bid. According to Der Spiegel Merkel met with both Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and the Spanish prime minister and they agreed not to meet with Hollande.

The group are angry at Hollande because he says that he wants to renegotiate the fiscal pact agreed to by all but two EU members. The agreement on fiscal discipline is a key plank in Merkel's plan to save the Euro.

The German Foreign Minister worries about Merkel's intervention in French presidential politics. Hollande seems likely to win in France. As a result Merkel and others who oppose Hollande will find themselves having already alienated an important leader they will be forced to work with. For many the best policy is to remain strictly neutral and stay out of the politics of France. For much more see this article in Der Spiegel.

France: Sarkozy trails socialist rival in presidential race

Recent polls show French president Nicolas Sarkozy falling further behind his Socialist rival Francois Hollande. Candidates from smaller parties are gaining more support.

A survey conducted on March 2-3 shows Sarkozy at 23 per cent as against 30.5 per cent for the leader Hollande. The gap between the two candidates widened by 1.5 percentage points since Feb. 19th. The first round of the election is on April 22.

The anti-euro candidate Marine Le Pen also gained a percentage point to 15 per cent even with the centrist Francois Bayrou who gained two percentage points.

If no candidate gets a majority on the first ballot the top two will face a runoff. In a runoff polls show Sarkozy again losing out with 42 per cent against 58 for Hollande. This gap is 6 percentage more than on Feb. 19th. For more see this article.