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Sarkozy’s sparkle fades
‘Mr Normal’ Hollande to move into Elysee
Heavy losses for Greek pro-austerity parties: Exit polls
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Record number of
Indian-Americans in race for US Congress
Tornado hits Japan, kills teenager
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Sarkozy’s sparkle fades
Paris, May 6 Yet his popularity ratings slid so fast and so far, as many found him brash and too chummy with the rich once in power, that his frenetic re-election campaign and his promise to govern differently have fallen flat. The deeply ambitious son of a Hungarian immigrant, Sarkozy set his mind to becoming president from an early age, despite his lack of the elite upbringing of his political peers. Asked once whether he thought of the presidency when he looked in the shaving mirror, he replied: "Not just when I'm shaving." His taste for expensive watches, garish polo shirts, flashy yachts and pop music set the teetotal jogger apart from past presidents, with their more refined preferences for fine cheese, wine, literature and countryside retreats. His over-familiarity jarred with the public, from the day he told a man in a crowd to "get lost, jerk" to the time he flaunted his private life at a news conference, saying with a grin, that his liaison with supermodel Carla Bruni was "serious". With surveys rating him the least popular president to seek a second term. "Nothing can prepare you for being president. It's so difficult," he told a group of regional newspapers after Hollande beat him to first place by 1.5 percentage points in the April 22 first-round vote among 10 candidates. "Perhaps at the start of my term I acted too much like a minister in being too hyperactive, too present. The president must appear more like a solemn and distant symbol, while also remaining accessible. It's a difficult balance." On the world stage Sarkozy won plaudits for his firefighting skills and his swift response to the euro zone debt crisis and to the popular uprising in Libya. But at home, many found him arrogant, showy and vulgar. The aggressive manner that drew dispirited blue-collar workers to him five years ago weighed against this time. After his 2007 pledge to slash unemployment fizzled, few were ready to believe his promises that he could revive the sickly economy. "People are voting more to punish Sarkozy than out of approval for Hollande. It's more about personality than ideas," said transport executive Franck Vallee, 40, as he voted for the incumbent in the Loire valley village of Ecommoy.
— Reuters
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‘Mr Normal’ Hollande to move into Elysee Paris, May 6 But, after winning France's presidential vote, Socialist Francois Hollande faces some far-from-ordinary challenges as the leader of the eurozone's second-largest economy, a nuclear-armed UN Security Council member. Derided by critics as inexperienced and soft-and nicknamed "Flanby" after a brand of wobbly pudding-Hollande is set for a crash course in governing after his victory over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. "I am what you see, there is no artifice. I don't need a disguise. I am who I am. Simple, direct, free," Hollande said in the campaign, during which he contrasted his humble style with that of the flashy and aggressive Sarkozy. Even a year ago, few would have expected to see the Hollande packing his bags for a move into the Elysee Palace. The then IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was seen as all but certain to be the Socialist candidate in today's vote, until his stunning fall from grace in May after sexual assault charges in New York. — AFP
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Heavy losses for Greek pro-austerity parties: Exit polls
Athens, May 6 The conservative New Democracy led by Antonis Samaras was the largest party with 17-20 per cent of the vote, insufficient to give it an absolute majority and down from 33.5 per cent at the last election in 2009, the exit polls showed. The left-wing Pasok saw its score slump to 14-17 per cent from 43.9 per cent. The party was even leapfrogged into second place by the leftist Syriza party, which scored 15.5-18.5 per cent, up from 4.6 per cent three years ago. A neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, was also set to enter parliament for the first time in nearly 40 years, notching up 6-8 per cent. The communist KKE scored 7.5-9.5 per cent, compared to 7.5 per cent in 2009, the exit polls showed. Both Pasok and ND have said they want the "troika" of the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank to cut Greece more slack in their two bailout deals worth worth 240 billion euros ($314.0 billion). But with voters angry at the austerity cuts demanded in response, many of the smaller parties, including Syriza, want to tear up the agreements, while the communist KKE party want to leave the
eurozone. The result, therefore, will make it tough for Samaras, once he is tasked to do so by the president, to form a government able to keep its austerity promises and implement more cuts demanded by the country's creditors.
— AFP
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Russians protest against Putin’s Kremlin return
Moscow, May 6 Russia's current premier will crown his thumping March presidential election win with a glitzy inauguration tomorrow that includes a booming 30-gun salute and a special blessing from Orthodox Church Patriarch
Kirill. Leaders of protests that gripped Moscow following fraud-tainted legislative polls in December had set today as their target for showing the ex-KGB spy how far Russia has evolved since his domination of the country from 2000 to 2008. They had earlier cancelled several post-Putin vote rallies after drawing a fraction of the 100,000-strong crowds that once joined them amid doubts about what new demonstrations could possibly call for or achieve. Only 10,000 users had pledged their attendance for today on Russia's VK Internet forum, while police in Siberian city of Irkutsk reported just 70 people coming to an event organised for more than 1,000. Similar small numbers were reported in central Russia as well. A drizzle began to fall on the Moscow crowd as the first few thousand gathered for a march along a main thoroughfare toward a square opposite the river from the Kremlin for a rally officially limited to 5,000 people. But those there, many waving banners or beating drums while wearing the traditional white protest ribbons, said they feared for Russia's course in the first six of a possible 12 new years the 59-year-old can now stay in power. "He is is approaching his 60s and is hardly likely to be any better
than he was before," said human relations consultant Artyom Streltsov. "And I did not see any success in the past 12 years." The flagging protest numbers underscore the trouble the fractured movement-its ranks filled with everyone from veteran liberals to teenage Stalinists-will have in finding direction during Putin's six-year term.
— AFP
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Record number of Indian-Americans in race for US Congress
Washington, May 6 Cutting across party lines, these Indian-American candidates are spread all over the country with two each from California and Michigan. Congressman Hansen Clare, who is half Indian, is seeking re-election from Michigan, while another candidate
Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu, is receiving massive support from Indian-Americans. The motivation and inspiration for these Indian-American candidates numbering at least a dozen comes from the phenomenal success of two rising stars of the Republican party, Nikki Haley (Governor of South Carolina) and Bobby Jindal (Governor of Louisiana). However, majority of the Indian-American candidates are running for the Congress on a Democratic Party ticket. Indian-Americans have been traditional supporter of the Democratic party, an indication of which comes from a recent survey according to which as many as 85 per cent of the Indian Americans favour re-election of President Barack
Obama. Among the Indian-American candidates seeking election for the US House of Representatives on a Democratic Party ticket are Upendra Chivukula from New Jersey, Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, K P George from Texas, Ami Bera from California, Manan Trivedi from Pennsylvania, Syed Taj from Michigan and Vipin Verma from
Florida. Darshan Rauniyar from Washington, though from Nepal, is considered Indian-American by many. Hansen Clarke and Tulsi Gabbard are also from the Democratic Party. Young and dynamic Ranjit “Ricky” Gill from California and Ron Bhalla from Tenesse are the two Indian-American candidates in the fray from the Republican Party.
— PTI
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Tornado hits Japan, kills teenager
Tokyo, May 6 The exact cause of the death was not immediately clear, but he was among 12 persons whom rescue workers rushed to hospitals immediately after the twister, the spokesman said. He added that 15 other people in the city also sought medical care for tornado-related injuries. "The figure is only a temporary tally. We believe the number (for injuries) could rise," he said. The Tsukuba fire and emergency bureau said 30 to 50 houses were destroyed by the tornado. A number of minor injuries were also reported in neighbouring Tochigi prefecture.
— AFP
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