Politicians: the machine-gun option

Photo credit Lionel Bonaventure for AFP

Having problems understanding the Byzantine UMP vote scandal which may damage the image of politics in France for years to come? Never fear, here's the issue explained in an easy-to-follow ten-step guide, why it happened, and what should be done about it.

So, and without taking sides;

1) French opposition party holds internal elections to elect party prez. Two candidates.
2) One candidate wins.
3) Losing candidate alleges vote-rigging and party election committee admits some votes were not counted.
4) Top-level neutral party inquiry successfully demanded by loser and respected senior member chairs it, asking party top brass not to get involved until inquiry presents findings.
5) Pro-winner top brass committee decides that winner won fairly. Winner refuses to cooperate with neutral inquiry. Inquiry chairman throws in the towel after just a couple of days.
6) Loser threatens court action to challenge results. Party scared of possibility of law investigating illegal methods and sticking its nose into politics.
7) Party mentor Sarkozy advises against legal action, suggests compromise via for/against new election referendum for party members.
8) Loser announces will form a seccessionist party which will split party into two, reduce party taxpayer funding by half and render opposition totally ineffective.
8) Both protagonists finally decide to move towards Sarkozy compromise using guarded language.
9) More developments tommorow.
10) French public totally disgusted by whole farce, which will continue for months to come, whatever happens.

Those are the facts.

Why did this happen and what should be done about it? I'll leave you with the words of another Blogger blogger (sounds daft that..) who answered those questions in a comment thread in a perfectly simple and succinct manner with which I wholeheartedly agree;

I've often I've longed for a machine gun when watching politicians of all parties mouthing off about the daily life and frustrations of their constituents. Situations they clearly know very little about.

There you go, simple as that. These jokers couldn't care less about anything else but their vain little internecine power struggles and lining their pockets. 'The People'? You've got to be kidding.

I'm off to my local machine-gun shop to see what's on offer......