Aquinas wrote:Unions vow to paralyse France after Fillon’s landslide victory
This is partly why I think Fillon will struggle to deliver on his policies if he gets elected President. The French are resistant to change...
I generally agree that the French are usually status quo-minded, but one shouldn't consider the unions representative for the whole populace. The French union bosses have balked at even the slightest reform proposal put forward by Hollande and his socialist government, and they will predictably do their best to obstruct a right-wing government. But if Fillon is elected with a big mandate, they will damage their own reputation if they insist on their fundamental opposition. If his party wins a big majority in the Assemblée, Fillon can also change the laws, aimed at curbing the influence of the unions.
Aquinas wrote:This is true. I'm personally not at all keen on Fillon politically. It may be he stands a strong chance of beating Le Pen, and that's great of course...but is he someone who can bring French society together? That I'm very doubtful of. He's divisive.
Divisiveness is an inherent feature of democracy because you will always have competing factions, some of whom will inevitably go down to defeat. There have been few reform-minded leaders, regardless of their ideological leanings, who have not been divisive. Thatcher was divisive. Blair was divisive. Reagan was divisive. FDR was divisive. Obama was divisive. Trump is divisive (Hillary would have been divisive too). Uniting around a crumbling system for the sake of preventing conflict will result in a perpetual downward spiral.
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 5:55 pm