Is there no one in Francois Hollande's entourage with the courage to say, sorry but this is a one way-autoroute to absurdity?
It is ironic
quips
Stephen Clarke
– politicians get to live their dream of ultimate power and it turns so quickly to nightmare.
And the sad thing in [Francois Hollande]’s case is that, leaving all
political allegiances aside, only one of the nightmares was really his
fault. The problem was that this one mistake was all-embracing.
The question I’ve been asking myself all year, or rather most of the time since he was elected, is: how has he managed to surround himself with such a bad gang of advisors?
I thought this most recently when Le Président went to Kazakhstan in
early December, and someone allowed him to be photographed wearing local
costume, which doubtless looks great when you’re riding a Mongolian
pony across the steppes, but less so when you’re a small Frenchman
swamped in a fur hat and mountainous overcoat, and standing next to the
Kazakhstani president who is looking comfortable in his sharp
French-style suit? Which member of M. Hollande’s entourage said ” oh
oui, a photo opportunity as an exhibit in a folklore museum, bonne
idée”?
More importantly, why did no one say it was a terrible idea and steer him clear of trouble?
But by then, it was no longer a surprise. After all, the year started
terribly with the magazine article revealing that France’s president
had thought that it was a clever idea to borrow a love nest a few metres
outside the presidential palace and drive there on the back of a
scooter to meet his mistress – when he was already being criticised for
installing a high-maintenance unmarried First Lady in his official
residence? Honestly, is there no one in his entourage with the courage
or the nous to say, sorry but this is a one way-autoroute to absurdity?
Apparently not…
… speaking of the economy, what kind of Socialist president is so badly
advised that he nominates a minister of commerce who is then forced to
resign when accusations are made that he has been less than scrupulous
about paying his income tax? This happened in September when Thomas
Thevenoud stepped down – after only nine days in the job. Did no one
check out his CV? Did no one say, we’re Socialists, so let’s spend five
minutes seeing if the candidate has the right credentials?
The answer is apparently non. All of which must make 2014 a year that
M. Hollande might want to skip over when he writes his autobiography.
