The Domino Effect in Europe

It was always going to be a close victory, and it was. In the event, Socialist candidate François Hollande won the night with 51.9% of the vote to Nicolas Sarkozy’s 48.1%. The announcement broadcast at eight-o’clock by the French media drew loud and happy cheers from Hollande’s supporters gathered in Paris and in Tulle,the largest city of his home region of Corrèze.
His supporters are right to rejoice. It has been 17 years since a Socialist won a Presidential election in France. Seventeen long and seemingly interminable years of political stagnation. Yet, when their man finally came, it was not DSK,as previously thought,but François Hollande.
Hollande does not have the political animus or instincts of Nicolas Sarkozy. His appearance resembles that of a provincial town clerk, not of someone from De Gaulle. Equally, he has neither DSK’s charisma nor Mitterrand’s politicking skills. But he was the candidate to beat Sarkozy. Where the incumbent President divided, Hollande sought to unify. Where Sarkozy was a micro-manager with a combative personality, Hollande delegated expertly and never lost his cool.
Tonight, President-Elect Hollande takes his place in the pantheon of French leaders, alongside De Gaulle, Mitterrand, Chirac and (of course) Sarkozy. However, his in-tray is possibly one of the most formidable that a new President has ever faced. There are soaring economic issues, coupled with rising social problems and a big question mark over future French military involvement in Afghanistan.  He needs to act fast to reinforce the Franco-German political bond, critical to staving off fiscal crisis,especially after such a tough and Euro-bashing election. Indeed, the issues he faces as President are largely unparalleled in the history of the Fifth French Republic.
As for Nicolas Sarkozy, this ending was never how he could have envisioned an epitaph for his political career. This high-flying and high-octane President has come down to earth with a bump. He will undoubtedly reflect long and hard on what caused such a spectacular fall from grace, after the intoxicating highs of his early Presidency. He may cast himself as the victim, as the fall-guy for a bad economy, combined with astute character-assassinations of his record. Nevertheless, this ignores his mistakes and faults; his perceived arrogance and his inability to connect with the French people. It is for this that he was punished for, not for his record.
Nicolas Sarkozy lost by a razor thin margin, even though he gratuitously and shamelessly appealed for far right votes. He frantically sought the votes of a xenophobic and intolerant political party, hardly a ringing endorsement of his national unity credentials. Sarkozy’s tough rhetoric shocked and stunned; his desperation to win at all costs even more so. In the end, even such last ditch resorts failed to save him from electoral oblivion.
As Hollande and his camp celebrates with champagne and Sakorzy's camp commiserates over coffees, it is obvious that France has spoken loud and clearly in its demand for change. Yet, as Socialists move to express their joy, they and their president-elect must now face difficult future choices, already appearing on the horizon.
France needs strong leadership at this time of uncertainty and great economic peril. It clamours for a firm hand to guide it though the necessary change and reforms, to emerge intact from a pernicious fiscal crisis. François Hollande has been nominated to take on the task; whether he will be up to it, only time will tell.
It seems the debt crisis is having a domino effect on most of the European countries where austerity measures are being forced down the throats of the innocent people who through no fault of their are being made to bear the brunt of some unpleasant decisions taken by their governments. Greece is set to face a similar problem in their political atmosphere as the people are not willing to accede to the measures to be adopted by their government. Spain is also likely to go down the same line. Germany is trying to put up a strong face but time will tell if that momentum can be sustained. Britain is also just around the corner as it regards itself as an island in continental Europe. Similar problems are bound to arise there. How long will they survive. I hope you know what dominoes are? When the first one falls, the others will follow till the end. But this will also have an effect on Africa, God help us all.

Gbagbo's Woes, Ouattara's Gains.

The former Ivorian Presidnet, Laurent Gbagbo is now being kept in detention in the northern part of the country he once ruled by the government of Alhassane Ouattara. Was Gbagbo trying to be more African by fighting for what really belonged to his people? He was trying to be a hero for his people, but the whole world saw him to be a villain and in the end, he nearly paid for his life. Lets look at certain facts. Gbagbo wanted to do away with the Post-Colonial Pact signed between the French-Speaking West African countries and their colonial master, France. This pact stipulated that, the French-Speaking West African countries should deposit 80% of their annual GDP in a common bank controled by France. If they needed money more than $20million for development, premission would have to be sought from the French authorities before they could withdraw money more than that amount for any development project in their countries. Gbagbo was just trying to put an end to that. These African countires had no right to allow any foreign country to exploit any natural resource discovered in their countries. France was to be given the first opportunity to exploit before any other country could come in and exploit. Gbagbo wanted to protect the rights of the Ivorian peoples property.  But the French would not allow him to do that. Gbagbo had invited the Chinese and the Russians in to exploit the newly found oil reserves off the Ivorian coast. The French would have none of that. The elections in Ivory Coast were rigged the moment the registration exercise began. The UN looked on as the northern border with Burkina Faso was opened for Oattara's kinsmen (Burkinabes) to register in their numbers. Gbagbo could not do anything about this situation, because he had no control over the northern part of the Ivory Coast which were in the hands of rebels loyal to Ouattara.The French and the UN saw Gbagbo as a stumbling block in their attempt to launch a new era of colonization in Africa. Alhassane Ouattara was seen to be easily manipulated by France and her western allies, since he has been on their payroll before when he served as the deputy IMF president. Now the ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo has been in Ivory Coast pretending to be investigating crimes against humanity committed by both sides during the Post Electoral conflict. But, we all know that, Gbagbo is their main target, Oattara's forces would be left off the hook, no matter what. Ivorians would one day remember Laurent Gbagbo for trying to be an African and not kowtow to the whims and caprices of France and her western allies, posterity would judge us all especially the African Union. This organization should bow down its head in shame.

African Money.

French ex-President Jacques Chirac, and presidential hopeful and former PM Dominique de Villepin were given $20m by African leaders, partly to finance election campaigns, a lawyer alleges.

Robert Bourgi said he was personally involved in handing Mr Chirac briefcases full of cash, but said there was "no proof" of the payments.
Mr Bourgi made similar allegations against the far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen, AFP reports.
The ex-leaders vowed to sue Mr Bourgi.
Mr Chirac and Mr de Villepin deny the claims, which come seven months before presidential polls. Mr Le Pen said the allegations against him were "false... ridiculous".
Mr de Villepin is seen as a major centre-right rival to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Mr Chirac is currently on trial in absentia on charges of illegal party funding. A medical report says he is too unwell to attend and suffers memory lapses.
'Clean France'

In an interview for the Journal de Dimanche newspaper on Sunday, Mr Bourgi alleged that he had been involved in handing over several suitcases to Mr Chirac during his tenure as mayor of Paris in the 1980s and 1990s.

He claimed that the suitcases always contained at least 5m francs ($1m; £630,000) and sometimes as much as 15m.

The first handover of money in Mr de Villepin's presence occurred in 1995, he said, involving 10m francs from the then Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko.
Mr Bourgi alleged that money from the leaders of several former African colonies was then passed to Mr Chirac and Mr de Villepin over the next 10 years. Speaking on Europe 1 radio, he estimated the total amount to be about $20m.
But he added there was "no proof, no trace" of the alleged secret payments.
In an interview with French television on Monday, he also alleged that the former head of the far-right National Front party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, funded part of his 1988 presidential campaign with money from Gabon's late ex-president Omar Bongo, AFP reports.
Mr Le Pen told BFM television: "If this Mr Bourgi was charged with giving me these funds, he must have kept them for himself."
Mr Bourgi claimed that Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso and Bongo all visited Mr de Villepin in his office, handing over $10m for the 2002 election campaign.
Bernard Houdin, an adviser to former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, said that such payments were "a historical practice" and that "the sums mentioned are no doubt below reality".
However, Sengalese and Burkinabe officials denied the claims. Asked what African leaders got in exchange for the money, Mr Bourgi said: "Lies, lies, lies, unkept promises, meaning that France would close its eyes to certain abuses of power in Africa."
"I acted in my own name, no-one dictated me this interview," Mr Bourgi said, adding that he wanted a "clean France". He added the claim that the same system of secret payments existed under former presidents Georges Pompidou, Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Francois Mitterand.
Mr Chirac's lawyer, Jean Veil, said on Sunday that he had been instructed to file a defamation complaint against Mr Bourgi, and Mr de Villepin told French TV he would do the same.
"They are trying to stop me from running [for president], they have been putting spokes in the wheels for years, but I have thick skin," he said. Judges are expected to rule this week on the so-called Clearstream affair, in which Mr de Villepin is charged with plotting to discredit Mr Sarkozy by failing to stop a corruption inquiry in 2004. The former prime minister was cleared of all charges in a trial that ended last year, but the state prosecutor appealed against the verdict. Mr Bourgi is widely seen as being close to Mr Sarkozy, but he said he was not an unofficial or official adviser, although he was sometimes consulted by the president.Whilst we in Africa are seriuosly in need of basic necessities of life just as good drinking water, education, constant supply of electricity and many more, our leaders are sending African money to the west especially France to finance their electoral campaigns. If all these allegations by Mr. Bourgi turns out to be true, the African leaders mentioned in the story should be impeached by their people just to serve as an example to others who are thinking of doing same. This huge sum of African money could have been used to improve the living conditions of the people in the afore mentioned countries. I weep for Africa, oh  Mother Africa.