Agnès Poirier had the funniest and most interesting article on David Cameroon (the Tory Leader in Britain) and Ségolène Royal (the French socialist who may become the First woman and first socialist president since Mitterrand. This was the best part of her article:
They look good, dress smart and talk sharp. To their compatriots, they feel new, fresh, and charismatic. Only a year ago, nobody would have bet a penny on their presence, front of stage. Since their blitzkrieg ascent on to the political scene, they have been bullied and denigrated by the media for, among other things, being chameleons. The public, disliking personal attacks, have loved them more for it. [...]The only visible difference between them: to get to parliament, one travels by bike; the other in high heels. They are David and Ségolène, Cameron and Royal, yesterday's unknowns, today's political stars, and, perhaps, tomorrow's rulers of Britain and France. David is 39 going on 30, Ségolène is 53 going on 38. They both have the look. And the manners. […] They have found their niche. They slipped on to the political scene's front-of stage through a keyhole: the soft issues. Add a zest of work values and a pinch of respect, and here is their "winning hearts" programme: education, family, the environment and anything to do with local and domestic questions.[…] So far, each has been a deft tightrope walker. But for how long? While Cameron seems to have positioned himself at a healthy distance from the Iron Lady, last Sunday Royal referred, once too many times it seems, to Mitterrand's heritage. One more time and she may lose her footing with the electorate on the right, which she has courted so astutely. They both have one obsession: Tony Blair. Cameron to defeat him, Royal to emulate him. […] Today, it seems, it doesn't matter what background one comes from, conservative or socialist. Words are of little importance in the new world of politics that Blair has created for Europe.
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