France’s Unfocused Candidates Vie for Undecided Voters
from the NY Times
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Published: April 11, 2007
PARIS, April 10 — Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative candidate for president, suggests that pedophilia is most likely a genetic flaw; Ségolène Royal, the Socialist, does not seem to know that Taliban extremists are no longer running the government of Afghanistan; and Jean-Marie Le Pen, the ultrarightist, recommends masturbation instead of free condoms to meet young people’s sexual needs.
With 12 days to go before the first round of France’s presidential election, the campaign has entered a phase of improvisation and even silliness that reflects the absence of any single defining issue and a frenzied competition to win over the country’s large bloc of undecided voters.
Every twist seems important. Monday was the “official” opening of the French campaign, in which all 12 candidates put up campaign posters across the country and began broadcasting short prepared free spots, of exactly the same length, on state-run television and radio stations.
But a record 42 percent of French voters say they are undecided or can still change their minds, according to a recent survey by the CSA polling institute published in Le Parisien on Sunday. Among voters under the age of 30, the percentage is even higher, at 56 percent.
for the full story, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/europe/11france.html?n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fFrance
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Published: April 11, 2007
PARIS, April 10 — Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative candidate for president, suggests that pedophilia is most likely a genetic flaw; Ségolène Royal, the Socialist, does not seem to know that Taliban extremists are no longer running the government of Afghanistan; and Jean-Marie Le Pen, the ultrarightist, recommends masturbation instead of free condoms to meet young people’s sexual needs.
With 12 days to go before the first round of France’s presidential election, the campaign has entered a phase of improvisation and even silliness that reflects the absence of any single defining issue and a frenzied competition to win over the country’s large bloc of undecided voters.
Every twist seems important. Monday was the “official” opening of the French campaign, in which all 12 candidates put up campaign posters across the country and began broadcasting short prepared free spots, of exactly the same length, on state-run television and radio stations.
But a record 42 percent of French voters say they are undecided or can still change their minds, according to a recent survey by the CSA polling institute published in Le Parisien on Sunday. Among voters under the age of 30, the percentage is even higher, at 56 percent.
for the full story, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/europe/11france.html?n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fFrance
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