Merkel, Rice and Royal. In August, 2006 the German Chancellor, Frau Angela Merkel displaced the U.S. Secretary of State, Ms Condoleeza Rice as the most powerful woman in the world. In France, the first woman with a realistic chance of becoming president of France, Segolene Royal is fighting back against those who doubt her capacity to govern the country. ‘Sego’, goes on the offensive this
week in a first televised debate her remaining male rivals for the Socialist party nomination. Royal. 53, is anxious to avoid verbal abuse from former ministers Laurent Fabius and Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the
battle for the Socialist nomination. Fabius and Strauss-Kahn are well behind in the polls, but fears she could be weakened before the battle for the presidency, probably against Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right interior minister. Royal dismissed Socialist ‘Elephants’Lionel Jospin, the former prime
minister and Jack Lang, the former culture minister. She has dispelled doubts about her abilities and questions about her Socialist credentials when she expressed admiration for U.K. Prime Minister, Tony Blair, along with camps for unruly teenagers and doubts about the 35 hour week. Left-wing detractors say, Royal, an attractive woman with a designer wardrobe has reduced the
nomination to little more than a beauty contest. Liberation, the left
wing newspaper, stated ’When male politicians look stale, not being one is obviously an advantage. ‘Her femininity should not be her only weapon. Sarkozy ‘Sarko’ would have preferred to fight for the
presidency against a Socialist ‘Elephant’. Sego, in contrast may be better at breaking with the past than Sarkozy, this is his main campaign theme. A worrying complication for Sarkozy, who expected to secure his party’s nomination, is the challenge from Michele Alliot-Marie, the defence minister. Her argument is that only another woman can beat Royal. Last week a 1999 film showing deceased Pierre Bourdieu accusing Royal of not being a true Socialist was shown on an intenet webpage. Royal’s response, it will need more than ghosts to unnerve her.
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