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Journalism of Courage
Can too much democracy be bad for you? The Partie socialiste PS, the Socialist Party of France is the victim of that French preoccupation 8212; debate 8212; and what precedes and follows debate: division. The French socialists concluded a disputed ballot to elect the first secretary of the PS, and Martine Aubry has won by a meagre 42 votes, with more than 40 per cent of party members too disgusted to vote. Her rival, Seacute;golegrave;ne Royale, defeated by Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential polls last year, has not only challenged the results but accused the Aubry camp of electoral fraud.
The circus has alarmed a French media used to the presence of the dramatic in the most mundane, with centre-right and centre-left publications screaming 8220;rift8221; and 8220;suicide8221;. So, as Sarkozy8217;s party 8220;salutes8221; the 8220;Socialists8217; talent for self-destruction8221;, the PS finds itself turned into a synecdoche 8212; as part for whole 8212; for France, a nation that found itself painfully divided at almost every crisis known to its history. And also a synecdoche 8212; as whole for part 8212; for the Royale household. Franccedil;ois Hollande, the outgoing first secretary, Royale8217;s partner till they split after her presidential defeat, and the father of her four children, campaigned to keep her out. He is now the arbiter of the disputed result.
