Sunday, January 12

Mr Normal

Dough boy

When things go down a good scandal in order and France's Hollande gives us just that, shagging a Fr movie star 20 years his younger. In past, the French turned the blind eye to their leader's dalliances but Fonzi changed all that, rubbing the post-crisis struggling nation's face in it, with the sexy and talented Carla Bruni. No, Hollande promised to return some respect to the highest office (even though he ditched his longtime girlfriend and mother of his children for a hot tempered editor at Paris Match but whatever)

France could use some presidential virility but pictures of the famously hen pecked Hollande taken around the corner on a moped and hustled into his sexual den wearing a motor helmet to avoid detection, well, a bit too much.

The President's popularity now in the teens and no wonder : it has been a mess from the start. It poured rain on his inaugural march down the Champs Elysee (he, refusing umbrella). Then the plane  on his first diplomatic mission struck by lightening (Germany, flight turned around). Of course there was the tax-the-rich fiasco of 2012 and, today, France the sole country in the Western World not forecasting growth while 54% of the workforce in public services. No fun here.

"I could have made a fortune in cheeseburgers, but I finally chose politics."
--Francois Hollande, President of France

Photo from AP and Getty Images