French elections

French Presidential elections today. First round, 10 candidates. Run-off to follow between the first two in the voting.

Invariably it will be same as elsewhere. The PS (like the SDP in Germany, the Labour Party in the UK, the Democrats in the US etc) against the RPR (like the CDU in Germany, the Conservatives in the UK, the Republicans in the US). Negative voting, voting out the incumbent - that is the rule. Not whether the leading opponent can change things.

Unemployment is high, the economy is not booming, whoever wins will not be able to do much to improve things.

Hollande, Sarkozy? Lower unemployment, more prosperity, an end to poverty? No chance of the second and third of those, I am afraid!

You wonder why at times we expect so much from democracy in the western world. Nothing ever seems to improve. Hope seems to have flown out of the window, and 10 years down the road the likelihood is that things will be worse than ever for everyone - except the rich of course who will simply go on getting richer wharrever happens ....