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    #51
    So Mitterrand then

    Tubby Isaacs wrote:
    Originally posted by Evariste Euler Gauss
    Tubby, on the subject of the new government formed in 1981, does the book cover the fuss made by the US about the inclusion of some Communist Party people in the first post-1981 French cabinet? I vaguely remember the news at the time, reporting it as if the Americans thought it was half way to a Moscow takeover. Did the US have any legitimate reason to fear for France's pro-western geo-political stance, and to what extent did the US administration feel it could interfere effectively in French internal politics with regard to this issue>?
    It does cover that, but superficially because of the length of the book. Mitterrand sent out diplomats straightaway to reassure America. Don't know if America made him do anything he didn't want to. He's a cunning sod who sucked the Communists in and didn't give them much.
    He was kicking at a rotten door with the Communists. The PCF was about to spiral into decline hugely: miserable, inflexible dogmatic leadership, weirdly reactionary social policies (such as opposing abortion), and the "we were the Resistance, you know" line either being no longer effective or losing its allure once the real wartime records of some people came under scrutiny.

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      #52
      So Mitterrand then

      Whittaker wrote:
      Originally posted by Tubby Isaacs
      Originally posted by Evariste Euler Gauss
      Tubby, on the subject of the new government formed in 1981, does the book cover the fuss made by the US about the inclusion of some Communist Party people in the first post-1981 French cabinet? I vaguely remember the news at the time, reporting it as if the Americans thought it was half way to a Moscow takeover. Did the US have any legitimate reason to fear for France's pro-western geo-political stance, and to what extent did the US administration feel it could interfere effectively in French internal politics with regard to this issue>?
      It does cover that, but superficially because of the length of the book. Mitterrand sent out diplomats straightaway to reassure America. Don't know if America made him do anything he didn't want to. He's a cunning sod who sucked the Communists in and didn't give them much.
      He was kicking at a rotten door with the Communists. The PCF was about to spiral into decline hugely: miserable, inflexible dogmatic leadership, weirdly reactionary social policies (such as opposing abortion), and the "we were the Resistance, you know" line either being no longer effective or losing its allure once the real wartime records of some people came under scrutiny.
      Getting in bed with Reagan, now that was really progressive.

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        #53
        So Mitterrand then

        Mitterrand's opportunistic response to the rise of Le Pen is also on his charge sheet, and should make cautionary reading for Miliband etc:

        He told his cabinet-On a tout intérêt à pousser Le Pen: il rend la droite inéligible (we have every interest in boosting Le Pen- he makes the Right unelectable).

        This was the green light for, amongst other things, a one-election-only proportional representation reform, to give Le Pen the necessary boost; quiet words had by Mitterrand and his chums with tv editors to give Le Pen airtime etc etc

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          #54
          So Mitterrand then

          Yes, it does, very much. The FN made it much easier to win the 1988 election.

          Mitterand was close to Reagan because he was shit scared of the Soviets. Interesting that he didn't the Americans would fight in Europe in practice, hence the need for the independent French deterrent.

          What our justification for our nuclear deterrent is, given that we trust America completely, God only knows.

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            #55
            So Mitterrand then

            PR of course has good democratic arguments for it, but on this occasion in France helped the FN.

            Think there's a bit of a lesson there with an EU Referendum. That'll be a massive boost for cuntery even if there's a No vote.

            I can't see any progressive reason for holding one.

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              #56
              So Mitterrand then

              If the PS had believed in PR they'd have kept it for subsequent elections (when, for example, the far left began to grow at the expense of both PS and PCF), but cuntery-opportunism being what it is...

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                #57
                So Mitterrand then

                Felicity, I guess so wrote: If the PS had believed in PR they'd have kept it for subsequent elections (when, for example, the far left began to grow at the expense of both PS and PCF), but cuntery-opportunism being what it is...
                Oh yes, no doubt what Mitterrand was doing.

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