France 1988, Barre vs Mitterrand in the runoff (user search)
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  France 1988, Barre vs Mitterrand in the runoff (search mode)
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Author Topic: France 1988, Barre vs Mitterrand in the runoff  (Read 2249 times)
big bad fab
filliatre
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Posts: 13,344
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« on: May 25, 2009, 03:23:39 AM »

Let's imagine Raymond Barre, supported by the UDF, is slightly ahead of Chirac in the first round (19 vs 16,5 like in the reality but vice-versa).

He's in the 2nd round against Mitterrand, who did well in the first round (34%). Le Pen was the big surprise, with 14,5% in the first round.

Would he have succeeded in winning ?

at least in doing better than Chirac (who was crunched 54-46) ?

in grasping more FN voters than Chirac, who tried hard (with Pasqua's gestures and actions in New Caledonia) but had never been loved by the far right (Barre, on the contrary, hadn't said anything very strong against Le Pen) ?

in grasping more moderate voters and troubling Mitterrand's campaign, which was hardly socialist ("France Unie", promises of "ouverture" and a moderate Rocard governement, the idea of "ni-ni", neither privatization nor nationalization, etc.) ?
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big bad fab
filliatre
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Posts: 13,344
Ukraine


« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2009, 10:20:11 AM »

I agree with Hash.

I may add that Barre would have been a poor campaigner in the 2nd round: he tended to say failed sentences, he was able to be harsh with journalists, he tended to despise ordinary people (even if Balladur was worse, of course), he wasn't a politician at ease in big gatherings.

And Barre wasn't seen by many French people, at that time, as a moderate and pro-European centrist. He was considered as a man from the right, albeit less than Chirac of course (especially in 1988, after 2 years of "libéralisme", sort of, and 2 years of Pasqua, Pons, Claude Labbé,..., i.e. harsh RPR).

And what is more, he was still seen as the horrible "economic doctor" of the late 1970s, equated with the Crisis, the 2nd oil shock, "la rigueur", "l'austérité", always repeating that French people must do efforts and efforts again.

So, I'm not so sure he would have done far better than Chirac, but Antonio mustn't be far away from the "truth".
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big bad fab
filliatre
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Posts: 13,344
Ukraine


« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2009, 03:06:02 PM »


Be careful, Sarkozy's "laïcité positive" seems to influence you...! Wink
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