Franois Hollande will not seek re-election as president of France

[brooklynite]

Source: The Guardian

François Hollande, the least popular French president since the second world war, has announced he will not run for a second term in office.

With a satisfaction rating so low it recently dropped to just 4%, the Socialist president appeared emotional as he said in a live televised address from the Élysée palace that he would not attempt to run for a second term, conscious of the “risks” to the French left.

He is the first French president since the war not to attempt to run for re-election.

Hollande’s popularity slumped right from the start of his presidency in 2012 when he was accused of a lack of preparation, zigzagging on policy and being unable to keep a lid on his government’s internal feuding on how to address the economy.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/01/francois-hollande-not-seek-second-term-president-france

[Dawson Leery]

1. kick

[JudyM]

2. How refreshing:a candidate steps aside *for the good of the party* in recognition of low popularity

ratings.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

3. ...

[cstanleytech]

4. Yup a prime example for "Grab them by their p**** Trump" but then again

at the time just about all the other Republicans trying to win the nomination had as much appeal as a roomful of rocking chairs has to a cat.

[Firebrand Gary]

9. Let's hope Kieth Ellison will do the same, for the good of the party.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/01/politics/kfile-keith-ellison-nation-of-islam/index.html

(CNN)Rep. Keith Ellison's past ties to the Nation of Islam and his defense of its anti-Semitic leader, Louis Farrakhan, are resurfacing as he campaigns to lead the Democratic National Committee.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, publicly renounced his association with the Nation of Islam in 2006 after it became an issue during his run for Congress, when local Republican bloggers began publishing his old law school columns and photos connecting him to the organization.
"I have long since distanced myself from and rejected the Nation of Islam due to its propagation of bigoted and anti-Semitic ideas and statements, as well as other issues," Ellison wrote at the time.
But several outlets have resurfaced Ellison's past writings as he runs for DNC chair, raising new concerns about his own views and what they would mean for the Democratic Party if he were to be its leader. A CNN KFile review of Ellison's past writings and public statements during the late 1980s through the 1990s reveal his decade-long involvement in the Nation of Islam and his repeated defense of Farrakhan and other radical black leaders against accusations of anti-Semitism in columns and statements to the press. None of the records reviewed found examples of Ellison making any anti-Semitic comments himself.

[Ellen Forradalom]

5. Honorable thing to do.

Good for him. It's time for the Mitterrand generation to step aside.

[LiberalLovinLug]

6. He may very well have not been a strong leader

I admit I do not keep up with French politics.

But isn't it "funny" that almost every Socialist leaning elected leader, around the world, gets hammered from day one from the right and the corporate press that they mostly own. And every little faux pas is blown up as the most outrageous crime. And issues they championed like unemployment in Holland's case are minimized. Until they are finally worn down in the public eye.

A left leaning leader's job is so much harder than a right leaning one. Because there are so many groups that have been marginalized and under-funded and disrespected and discriminated against over the years before that leader was elected. So many that expect, and rightly deserve, to now be paid attention to. It takes a special kind of left leaning leader to coalesce all his hopeful initial supporters that expect instant change.

A right leaning leader's only job is to please the wealthy class, and help enrich them more along with himself and his peers. He doesn't have to bother with the riff raff other than to stoke up fears of the "other" to keep them on board.

On top of that the right has a lot of money power to pressure the economy or threats to the economy. And to steer the MSM into always shading the government in a bad light.

You see this pattern everywhere. From national, provincial/state, to municipal levels.

That kind of infighting on the left is all too common, just look in here on DU as a good example. It does kind of come with the territory of a tolerant, inclusive, big tent. But damn it makes it more difficult to win.

[mahina]

10. I hope you make this an op. You nailed something I've been rolling around without that clarity.

+100.

[NobodyHere]

7. 4%?

Good lord, even congress's approval rating isn't that low (it sits at about 18%)

[SunSeeker]

8. The French Right must be licking their chops. nt