Sunday, November 4, 2012

France Moving to Socialism

With the U.S. elections only 3 days away, much of our conversation has been focused on the campaigns.  I though it might be interesting to shift our attention to political elections going on abroad, especially with our reading this week being so internationally focused.  France is also getting ready to hold elections.  Many people say that if candidate Francois Hollande wins, it will move France to being socialist and cause tension in Europe between France and Germany.  This short article by Euronews sheds light on the issue.  If any of you studied abroad in Germany or France, it may be useful to comment on the relationship between the two countries, the political issues you notices, and what type of government you believe works in either country.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting article, and it helps summarize the current situation in the Euro-zone quite well. Germany is a huge proponent of austerity measures because well--its easier to prescribe medicine, than to take it yourself. They don't need to make any cuts to spending in Germany. The German economy is the best in Europe, in some cases by far. So of course--they can sit back and advocate austerity. They wont have to deal with the consequences of an angry citizen body.
    It will be interesting to see how this election changes the dynamics of Euro-Zone relationships. With different ideologies represented, there is no doubt that we will see some strain and change in attitudes. Will this divide the EU further and exacerbate tension? How will this negatively affect the rest of our economies around the world. Mirroring the center point in "Risk Rules", the whole world will be watching in the days to come: to see how local politics stands to threaten the global scale.

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