Back home

Well, after going on about Tibet, I can come back to the country where i currently reside (and have done so for a wee while now), that is, France.
Our very own Dear leader, Sarkozy, has decided he needed to monitor what was said about him on the internet, mainly to "counterattack agaisnt false rumours" etcetera, which Versac, an influential french blogger, talks about in detail.
The problem being that a lot of the rumours are true, and he'd have been very happy if the internet hadn't picked up some of his more recent outbursts. Which do make for funny footage, but make me wonder if we are not led by an idiot.
Let's say that from the love affair that was his election, things have been going downhill ever since.
Between divorce, marriage, expensive holidays, model girlfriends, sliding purchasing power (if someone has a better expression please do give it, I've always studied economics in french) his common bumblings and insulting a senior citizen (let's use the PC term, n'est-ce pas) at the agriculture Salon, his real self came out : crass, vulgar, insecure, angry. Charming.
It's not quite what the country is used to.
I guess we'll be told that it's good, that we're coming out of the rule of austere presidents, blabla.
It always makes me laugh when Chirac is called austere, because he was(and is) somewhat of a bon vivant , who managed to, let's say, live up to the dignity of his function.
And for the short story, when someone yelled "connard" (jerk, dumbass,moron,dick, take your pick)at him one Sunday morning during his presidency, his answer was "enchanté, I am Jacques Chirac" which denotes a sense of humour. As to Miterrand insulted, he only deigned tell his assailant that the rhyming of his insult was poor. Something altogether different.

The problem being that Sarkozy brings out one showy idea after another, creates a whole debate which actually leads away from the real problem, the idea is abandoned, he goes on to something else. Like that crazy idea of having 10 year olds "carry the memory of a child dead during the Shoah". Now, no-one knew how, to start off with, and the idea was crazy; it was also given up a few weeks ago. And no-one addresses the problems in education, apart from cutting the numer of teachers, which might not be the way to save french education.
Which isn't so bad, I suppose, i benefited greatly from it, but there are problems. As in the whole country.
Strangely enough, I don't think they'll be solved anytime soon.