Lefty Royal: "Tony Blair isn't socialist enough."
Ségolène Royal will find it difficult to work with Britain's Conservative Party as president of France, her significant other told the Daily Telegraph. She also rejects Margaret Thatcher as "ruthless" and says that Tony Blair hasn't been sufficiently socialist for her tastes, according to François Hollande:
Ségolène Royal, the French Left's candidate for president, would find it difficult working with the "anti-European" David Cameron (Tory leader) and shuns comparisons with the "ruthless" Margaret Thatcher, her partner and Socialist party leader, François Hollande said yesterday.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hollande said Miss Royal drew inspiration from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, although there was "real divergence" on many policies, including on Iraq.
While Mr Hollande said his partner had been inspired by Mr Blair's strategic thinking - and especially the way he had modernised his own nominally socialist party - he said she "generally disagreed" with his policies. ...
"Margaret Thatcher has definitely not been a model for Ségolène. Even though she's a woman, Thatcher was known for her ruthless methods. She took many blows and this hardened her. Cameron is very much anti-European. It's because of this stance that he won the leadership of the party.
"But there's a natural opposition between the Conservatives in Britain and the Socialist Party in France. As parties we're very different.
"We'd certainly find it very difficult to envisage a future partnership with the Conservative Party."
One might suppose that Hollande and Royal want to send a message to the British not to elect Cameron if Royal wins the French presidency. Otherwise, the alliance between the two nations may come to an end. It's a rather arrogant statement from someone who wants to sell herself as a leader of her nation, and one which the British might want to keep in mind later.
Hollande later said that Royal didn't choose to run for her own personal glory, but for the French people. Odd, then, that she would project her personal dislikes onto Cameron and the Conservatives, who may one day run the UK after Blair leaves. The French people might want to maintain a good working relationship between Paris and London regardless of who Royal believes to be her opponent. The proper position for any candidate would be to maintain respect for the elected representatives of a nation's ally.
The Iron Lady: Thatcher was too "ruthless" says puny Royal
And in this case, Royal hasn't even bothered to visit the ally at all, an unusual omission for a French presidential candidate -- especially one who has decided that she can ignore a good chunk of their electorate. That makes her right about one thing: she's no Margaret Thatcher.
www.captainsquartersblog.com . . .