Ségolène Royal, the rising star of the French Socialist party, is a keen admirer of Tony Blair and could draw on some of the UK prime minister's policies if elected France's first woman president in n

Publié le 23 avril 2006 par François Alex

by whataboutbob
Fri Apr 21st, 2006 at 07:26:47 AM EDT

From today's Financial Times (behind subscription wall) is this article today:

French presidential candidate’s ratings surge

Ségolène Royal’s opinion poll ratings have surged ahead of all the other likely candidates for next year’s French presidential elections partly thanks to her innovative campaigning style on the internet and in magazine interviews.
In to the latest poll, published in Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday, a year ahead of the first round of elections, Ms Royal won the backing of 34 per cent of respondents.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of the ruling UMP party and most probable standard bearer for the French right, was the second most popular politician, with 30 per cent.

The prospect of a “Sarko-Ségo” battle between two such contrasting and colourful personalities has already captivated the French media. But early favourites in French presidential races have rarely won.

Well, let's check back in with our reader's in the know: what do you think?

Here's a little more from the same article:

Ms Royal’s popularity appears partly due to her novelty as a serious female candidate – the former environment minister appeared on the cover of five magazines last week – as well as her maverick campaigning style. Ms Royal has launched a website called desirsdavenir.org (desires for the future), encouraging the public to contribute to a “participative forum” and promising to adopt the best ideas.
Her critics have argued that her “wiki-programme” has only exposed the hollowness of her ideology but it has certainly aroused the interest of France’s internet users.

Stanislas Magniant, co-founder of Netpolitique.net, a French political website, said: “What she is doing is very smart because she is demonstrating that she is listening. That speaks volumes at a time when the French people think that they are not heard. She is using a queen bee strategy. You have a site and the whole blogosphere of Ségolenites are linking to it and creating a buzz around it. Everyone is talking about her and her programme.”

I have to give her credit, using the internet is creative...

Poll

Votes: 10
Results	\|	Other Polls

Sègo vs Sarko: presidential poll update | 22 comments (22 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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