I'm not a Blair. I'm a real socialist says Segolene Royal

Times Online
The favourite to be France's next President is mending fences with the Left.

"SÉGOLÈNE ROYAL is an admirer of Tony Blair. But as her bid to win the Socialist nomination for France’s presidency gathers pace she has begun to make clear that she remains an old-style leftist.

For months Mme Royal’s party rivals have been demonising her as a Blair-like reformer who will expose France to the mercy of the free markets. Until now the favourite had revealed little of her plans for the economy, but she is showing her hand in the campaign for the party endorsement next month. A glimpse of the Socialist star at work this week in her western fiefdom showed that President Royal — should she win next spring — would keep business under a firm state hand in the old Gallic way.

“The capitalists have to be frightened,” she told The Times. “There is no alternative. They can’t just dispose of people as they wish. They have to be held accountable.” Mme Royal, 53, was chatting in the corridor of the Poitou-Charentes council, in Poitiers, a pretty medieval city. She has presided there since 2004 when she became the first woman elected to run one of France’s 22 regions. More details.

RELATED: From the Scotsman:

" 'I want to unblock Europe and get France out of isolation,' Segolene Royal told a news conference, which came after accusations from party rivals that she lacked clear policy ideas.

Royal said French voters' rejection of the EU constitution last year came amid a climate of indifference towards the bloc.

The EU had to be a counterweight to the United States, she said, setting herself apart from conservative presidential rival Nicolas Sarkozy, who is known for his pro-American stance.

'The world needs Europe, the only peaceful power able to represent an alternative to the American hyperpower,' she said, adding Europe should take initiatives such as proposing an international Middle East peace conference." Read the rest at the Scotsman.

A pox to the European Union, France, and Ms. Royal Socialist. - - HH