Everyone has been expecting current IMF MD Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be the candidate for the Socialist Party, so this news came as a shock. After her defeat to Nicholas Sarkozy in 2007, few imagined she would run again. Whether it's Strauss-Kahn or even Royal, Sarkozy is sitting on record low numbers and will have challenges to win again. But never underestimate the left's ability to blow a lead. (Some things somehow cross all borders.) The Guardian:
Royal, who once likened herself to Joan of Arc, surprised the Socialist party hierarchy by announcing today in two local papers that she would rise from the ashes and wanted to run for the Elysée in 18 months' time. She promised to be the candidate of the people and attacked her party for dithering over who would stand against Sarkozy.
The announcement by Royal, 57, who heads the Poitou-Charentes region in western France, exposed the long-running saga of the backstabbing, bickering and rivalries that has undermined the French left and exposed its lack of policies.
Sarkozy, whose approval rating is at a record low, has not announced whether he will stand for re-election in 2012 but is expected to seek a second term and has been crisscrossing France making thinly veiled campaign speeches to win back crucial parts of his electorate, including farmers, rural voters and the over-50s.
