The exciting change of Hollande has fizzled out already – 10 months later – with 3.17 million out of work
The Times, Thursday, February 28, 2013, 14:22
Hollande least popular French president for 30 years
Ten months into his mandate, President Francois Hollande scored the worst of any French president since 1981 in the TNS Sofres poll for Le Figaro magazine released today as he struggles to spur economic growth and create jobs.
Socialist voters who propelled Hollande to the presidency in May 2012 are now questioning his government’s handling of an economy teetering near recession, a series of industrial layoffs and joblessness at a 15-year high.
Hollande’s rating fell by 5 points in February in the monthly poll to 30 percent when respondents were asked whether they had confidence in their president to resolve the country’s problems, pulled down by a 8 point drop from Socialist voters.
“Until now, the Elysee (presidential) palace could congratulate itself by saying that those who voted for the president remained loyal. That’s now over,” the survey said.
Socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s rating also fell 5 points to 28 percent.
From November to January, Hollande’s confidence rating was relatively stable, although still low, at about 35 percent in the poll, commissioned by the conservative-leaning publication.
The survey suggested Hollande has only enjoyed a short-lived boost from his military intervention in Mali, widely praised at home and by allies such the United States.
Data on Tuesday showed jobless claims rose to 3.17 million last month, the highest since July 1997, and Hollande admitted this week that sickly growth would make it harder to fulfil his pledge to stem the rise in unemployment by the end of 2013.
The survey of 1,000 people was conducted between Feb. 21 and Feb. 25.
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The typical deflating sound of François Hollande is on hilarious ‘les guignols des info’ on Facebook.
I’m getting a nasty déjà vu.
… pleasures yet to come!
Be cool! Vote Labour. And end up unemployed.
More than cool – Labour will put jobs ‘on ice’.
Regrettably, the shape of things to come for us!
The Gonzi administration was not perfect, no government is and no government will ever be.
Gonzi has made mistakes (he’s human, isn’t he?) – some genuine, some silly, but on balance this administration did well.
If there ever was a government that deserves to be re-elected it is this one, but the irony is that we will probably vote in the most inapt, unprepared, undeserving, immature, and incapable prime minister that this nation will ever have – and we will collectively pay the price for it.
The sad thing is that we are in a relatively advantageous position within the Mediterranean region, and instead of building on our relatively solid situation we will experience the same problems that our neighbours are facing, because it takes one simple strategic mistake to change our course from a virtuous to a vicious cycle of budget deficits, ballooning government debt, uncompetitiveness, loss of foreign direct investment, inflation, and unemployment.
By that time, our neighbours will be coming out of their mess and we will be regretting having voted for change, just for the sake of changing, or stayed at home because the PN have been in government for 15 years, or for being cool and having voted uselessly for AD and therefore having indirectly voted in the MLP – sorry, Joseph Muscat because he has annihilated the MLP.
We get the government that we deserve, but it will be our children to pay the price because it will take decades to reverse the economic consequences of a ‘cool’ vote in a few days’ time.
I would give you A++++++ for your comments not just A+.
The “one simple strategic mistake” has already been made, so your prediction is already fact.
The 600 million power station pledge is big enough too send our economy spiraling downwards – and so will Moody’s et al, ratings.
People seem to have all kinds of time entertaining themselves but for some reason cannot take time to reflect what can follow after a Labour win.
It doesn’t take that long, ‘switchers’ and ‘floaters’ to realize the mistake of voting Labour in. Don’t forget that 5 years is a long time especially if your children are set to start their education, or seeking higher goals at university. Receiving a stipend beats having to borrow to cover university or college costs!
If you think that electricity bills are high now, wait until they get worse by at least 5% and the prices of oil and gas keep going up!
But, in Labour supporters’ minds, promising a ‘job’ for those leaving school at 16, is such a cool idea!
Vote Labour – vote for high unemployment, inferior education, introduction of fees for health services (Scicluna’s own words about sustainability) and reduced government services. Vote Labour – vote for incompetence, failed policies from the Mintoffian era and, unfortunately you will be voting for the authors of institutionalized corruption.
All it would take in the short term is for a bond’s issue not to be fully subscribed to or for a short-fall or default on one bonds repayment for the ripple effect that devastated Greece and other neighbouring countries to take effect.
Then, from one day to the other, where will all benefits come from, hospital services and payments “tal-gvern?”
Bonds, their investment and repayments are crucial to the economy and healthy functioning of a country.
Malta has approximately 5 billion euro worth of bonds invested.
All it takes is one default to mess up the whole of the carefully laid investments and plans.
All it takes is not enough investor confidence in the government and its economic policies, to set this in motion.
When I read about all these fairytale stories turning sour, I cannot help but remember the way my parents tried to warn me about the dangerous pitfalls of life and how I disregarded it all, wanting to experience it for myself.
Looks like the Maltese voting for Muscat are going to do just that: marry the very charming boyfriend who promises the world only to find out months later that living with him on a daily basis is hell itself.
The problem is not Hollande. The problem is the Socialist ideology or whatever so called liberal and progressive people call socialism today.
Socialism is a failed ideology.
Socialism ruined millions of lives. Socialism ruined countries. Socialism ruined our values.
Socialism is guided by stealing whatever wealth a hard working person has built to give that wealth to the lazy sucker disguised behind the word poor. Can anyone wonder why people in the likes of Mintoff, KMB, Alfred Sant and Joseph Muscat endorsed such a filthy ideology.
Can anyone wonder why Joseph Muscat is ashamed to say he is a Socialist.
The PL distanced itself from Dr Mifsud, who last week addressed a press conference with Joseph Muscat on a tertiary education project
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130301/local/ineligible-expenses-land-malta-university-official-in-trouble-in-slovenia.459593
Hekk jigri jekk jitla l-Labour fil-gvern. Il-passat li jridu jaharbu u kliemhom hemm iwaslu ghal gol-hajt.
“Le changement c’est maintenant”. Il-bidla vera fi Franza qed isseh issa. U qed ihossuha !
Now imagine Malta in 10 months time.
And as usual The Times publish something too late. News headlines in the rest of the world today say that Hollande’s decisive action in attacking Mali Islamists has now made him more popular, because the French like their president to take decisions, even if they might be the wrong ones.
Maybe Joseph will try this out. Not sure if Malta’s armed forces attack the Comino pigs to save the inhabitants will carry the same weight, though
He’s in favour of pushing back illegal immigrants – that should more than make him more popular with the kind-hearted, helpful and generous Maltese nation.
I know France very well. I have commuted to work there, from another EU country, for over four years.
The palpable sense of defeatism and negativity is quite astounding.
Even the socialist strongholds in the South are struggling to justify the Hollande way of doing politics – picture this: France has had four, yes, FOUR, budgets in a year’s time.
Each one more painful than the last one. Why? Because he has no blasted idea and is squeezing the rich to a drop to fund the “working classes”. In other words, to keep the working classes happy, and keep his grass roots support.
But the idiot (he’s a socialist) failed to realise that it would cause a flight of wealth, of wealthy French, to Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Andorra and Monaco, to espace the high taxes and in turn their operations and job creation would move with them.
France had a fling with Socialism under Mitterand in the 80s and it was such a disaster that it had refrained from it until now, when the people hit the “boredom buttom” and went for change.
Everyone now wishes Sarkozy never left. Too late.
Forheaven’s sake! Mention ONE just ONE country run by a Socialist government that has done WELL.
They are all bankrupt. Do you want to join this train? Well on the 9th of March you will be the ones to decide – no one else will do the decision-making for you.
Plenty of countries run by Socialists have done well. They’re the Nordics. But then they never were ideological. That’s the whole point. It’s about brains, not beliefs.
You are right , for some strange reason the Catholic south tends to be more corrupt or inept .
There is a school of thought in contemporary economic theory which says that the current two-speed Europe is roughly split along the lines of the Holy Roman Empire.
In any case, beware ideology. Beware myths.
This is precisely why Malta scares me. Our whole vision of ourselves since 1964 has been a myth.
Vide the Mintoff story. Where myths flourish, so do political blunders.
The Socialists in the Catholic South (Italy, Spain, France) have milked this mythology for all it’s worth. They saved Europe from Nazism and Fascism. They saved the working class from oppression.
They alone brought freedom, human rights and social progress. They were always right. Even when they lose elections. They win because they are right, and when they lose they are still right.
Sounds familiar? It is. That’s Labour’s mantra right there.
I love Socialists as long as they’re east of the Rhine and north of the Alps.
This is a glimpse into our own future if the Labour Party is elected.
Joseph Muscat is incompetent and we would be handing our future into the hands of a spoilt, useless, lying brat, if he becomes prime minister.
Dr. Gonzi is one of the best politicians in Europe and Malta has the best possible results in every sector thanks to him. It is ironic that he has to stuggle to be elected. Polls should be showing 90% in favour of PN considering the exceptional results obtained.
What should one have expected when France was erroneously omitted from our muched loved porcine acronym;
F-P.I.G.S must have been just too much to admit.
I turned down an opportunity to work there a few years back, expected returns on my time would have been less than here in Malta and only a quarter of what I was making in Germany.
Great lifestyle and country, pity about the entitlement mentality that f***s up everything over there.
In 1996, the MLP sent a postcard saying “if you are doing it for the first time vote Labour”.
The message was referring to voting, but the picture implied ‘making love for the first time’. I don’t have that postcard any more.
You should have pasted the photo of Dr. Muscat wishing him well when he was elected.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=467X5N9hsx0&feature=youtu.be
Malta does not feature in the top list of 20 jobless countries in 2012.
2013 will being the Laburisti in the scene with their old-style-real-socialism policies and we will be the top of this list by next year. Yes, we’re in for a big ride into the unknown.