Today The New York Times had another surprising front page headline--surprising because it was rather gossipy, coming from the publisher of "all the news that's fit to print" (haven't heard that in a while, have you?) The article, longer than a full page, was all about France's Socialist Prime Minister Francois Hollande and his amours. The big news for me, which was no news at all, was that M. Hollande separated from the mother of his four children, a woman he never married, to consort with a younger woman. That news goes back to 2007! Apparently this second woman is now on shaky grounds with the PM, and he has been not-so-secretly visiting a third young woman, an actress who has done nude scenes. This is news, says the New York Times, because the French are unhappy with their PM anyway, and this will make them even more unhappy. Front page news! Why, you may ask?
Here's why: M. Hollande has done an about-face on his doctrinaire socialist policies, finding that, can you believe it, they don't work! France's economy is not recovering, and the country is burdened with Europe's highest government costs. No, this isn't coming from me or some right-wing blogger, it's from the Economist, a left-leaning and respected magazine. The Times decision to do a front-page article trashing M. Hollande was actually telegraphed last week, in an editorial by the indomitable Paul Krugman, whose editorial denounced the Socialist PM's about-face in the most scathing Krugmanesque terms. What can I say but, Vive la France! More to the point, vive someone in power who is intelligent and open-minded enough to change from a losing strategy to one which has a chance to work. Lower taxes and lower government expenses in France would preserve their welfare state while giving free markets a chance to do their thing.
Keep an eye on the Times' coverage of France and its Prime Minister over the next few months.
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