Au Revoir, Chirac

In an announcement not unexpected, Jacques Chirac has retired from politics. He has decided not to seek another term as President. Political pundits are inclined to believe that he would have lost badly had he chosen to run, so it would be best to step aside rather than go down in a humiliating defeat. Quit while you're ahead, in a way.

Le Pen, the man who will lose his most frequently skewered foe, has offered up a prayer for Mr. Chirac, asking God to forgive the French president. As far as Le Pen is concerned, Chirac is the worst leader France has ever had, leaving office with a nation in the doldrums. High unemployment, low productivity, and the alienation in the banlieu have all been assigned to Chirac's legacy.

When the French people said no to the European Union constitution, Chirac was handed a resounding defeat. He had pushed hard for passage, but when the referendum failed, it was clear that he was losing his following. When he attempted to break the stifling stranglehold of job security with a 'First Job Contract', he had to send in the riot police.

One of the well-heeled elite, Chirac campaigned on a platform of equality, that hazy socialist notion that the haves should give to the have-nots. The problem is, the haves work hard to get, and they're not going to give away to some lazy sod who doesn't turn a wheel. Now, when Chirac is stepping down, the gap between rich and poor in France is greater than it was twelve years ago when he first took office. Campaign rhetoric has proven to be so much hot air that has dissipated into the atmosphere.

Not all of the problems should be laid at Chirac's feet. The over-all socialist tone of France's ruling bodies does more to damage the standard of living than anything one man could do on his own. They compare what they have to what Americans have, and then rail when their country comes up short. Pity that the French lawmakers can't rewrite the laws of economics. Really a shame that they don't understand those laws and act as if they can get around them.

Politicians make promises to get elected, and Chirac has run out of new promises while carrying aloft a banner of failed proposals. Right wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy is the current front-runner for the post. Watch out that the swinging pendulum doesn't hit you on the way out, Monsieur Chirac.