The French Socialist revival

The French Socialist revival 29.1.12

Mr Sarkozy is in trouble and he knows it, as he begins to talk of life after politics.  The socialist revival in France led by Francois Hollande can provide inspiration to the Labour opposition.  Hollande’s rally injected life into his previously fledging campaign, with Hollande set to win the next presidential election.  So what can the Labour party take from this?

Hollande chimes that the banks need to be accountable and this chimes well with the public – the occupy movement currently at St Pauls, has received thousands of pounds of donations in the past few weeks.  The fact that the Tory led government approved the payment of 60% of the publicly bailed out, RBS chief executive bonus, is not in step with the current thinking of the general public. Ed Miliband's attack on David Cameron on why he did nothing to stop Stephen Hester’s bonus and this sends a signal to the public that we understand their concerns about the banking sector.  Hollande is also calling for a 45% tax rate for those earning above 150,000 Euros, which chimes with Labour’s view that the tax rate should be higher for those earning above £150,000.

Hollande also announced a new programme to recruit 60,000 new teachers, emphasising the importance of education.  The previous Labour governments Building School’s for the future programme recognised that crumbling architecture, can only hinder a child’s progress.

If Hollande wins the French presidential elections, this could be the boost for Labour to reignite a campaign that would appeal to the public, for a fairer Britain.