BREAKING: 2 French journalists liberated in Afghanistan

[big bad fab]

Stéphane Taponier et Hervé Ghesquière were hostages since December 2009, 30th.

Maybe we should thank that the US presidential election is every 4 years

Obama wants reelection => must leave Afghanistan mess => little armies from other Western countries just can't stay without US logistics => Sarkozy uses this pretext to leave too, making sure some coffins won't harm him in 2012 campaign => another side-effect is this liberation.

[big bad fab]

Of course, there may have been money too.

Poor Valérie Pécresse, she isn't Budget Minister yet and there is already a spending which will worsen the situation of our public finances !

(yeah, there is about to be another "breaking news" on a ministerial reshuffle after Lagarde's crowning in the IMF)

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, I just heard that on the radio. That's great news.

[Hash]

In shuffle news:

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Lol @ Douillet. Big brainless athlete is my cabinet minister! The 2007 days of thin cabinet with only 15 ministers, parity is all gone in favour of "let's please everybody and make everybody minister!"

[big bad fab]

Plus Claude Greff, deputy from Indre-et-Loire, becomes secrétaire d'Etat à la Famille.

This shuffle is highly "mitterrandesque" .

Laffineur for the former giscardians.
Greff for the socially conservative right.
Leonetti for the European centre-right.
Sauvadet to try to tie the NC to the UMP (a bit like the former MRG to the PS).
Mariani for the hard right.
Douillet to woo a specific category of voters (yeah, I know, normally, having Douillet should make you vote for Hollande or Aubry immediately ), a bit like Mitterrand did with "Economie sociale" or "Forests" portfolios.

Very, very mitterrandesque. Even more than the previous 2 shuffles.

It seems that Fillon eventually supported Baroin, because he wants to divide Baroin and Copé...
But I think it reveals how Sarkozy don't care about his ministers: Baroin wanted the portfolio ? He eventually has it.
You have Sauvadet who wants to be a plain minister ? Let's cut Civil Service and Budget, after you've said how much it's important to link them...
Leonetti wants health ? Let's put him at the European affairs.
Douillet ? Oh God, where can I put him ? Let's create a new lil' toy !

All this isn't very new, even before Sarkozy (Mitterrand and Chirac decided some very lunatic and weird designations... though they weren't as hated as Sarkozy...).
But, this time, I find this shuffle quite adequate politically speaking.

[Antonio the Sixth]

As usual, politicians seem to think a reshuffle will make people believe there's a new government, while in practice nothing changes.

[ZuWo]

As usual, politicians seem to think a reshuffle will make people believe there's a new government, while in practice nothing changes.

Another question is: How many voters even notice when a reshuffle of the government takes place? How many people care about this sort of things? I guess not that many, mainly the political junkies.

[Antonio the Sixth]

As usual, politicians seem to think a reshuffle will make people believe there's a new government, while in practice nothing changes.

Another question is: How many voters even notice when a reshuffle of the government takes place? How many people care about this sort of things? I guess not that many, mainly the political junkies.

On a rough guess, I'd say 20% know about the reshuffle, and of those 20% around 5% care. Of those, probably less than 5% care enough that it could affect their vote.

That makes 0.05% overall.

[big bad fab]

0.05% ?

Great ! Enough for Sarkozy to be above Le Pen .

[Хahar 🤔]

When shall a Minister for Free Time be designated?