W O R L D

France gets new leader, Europe new direction
Paris, May 7
France handed the presidency to leftist Francois Hollande, a champion of government stimulus programs who says the state should protect the downtrodden, a victory that could deal a death blow to the drive for austerity that has been the hallmark of Europe in recent years.
France’s President-elect Francois Hollande in Paris on Monday. — AFP

Hollande to take office on May 15
New French President Francois Hollande will officially take over on May 15, local media said on Monday. 

WAITING FOR HOLLANDE: General view of the Elysee Palace, the official residence of the French President. — Reuters

France gets new leader, Europe new direction

Paris, May 7
France handed the presidency to leftist Francois Hollande, a champion of government stimulus programs who says the state should protect the downtrodden, a victory that could deal a death blow to the drive for austerity that has been the hallmark of Europe in recent years.

Mild and affable, the president-elect inherits a country deep in debt and divided over how to integrate immigrants while preserving its national identity. Markets will closely watch his initial moves as the President. Hollande portrayed himself as a vehicle for change across Europe.

"In all the capitals ... there are people who, thanks to us, are hoping, are looking to us, and want to finish with austerity," he told exuberant crowds of supporters in a speech early this morning at Paris' Place de la Bastille. "You are a movement lifting up everywhere in Europe, and perhaps the world." The party reached into the night on the iconic plaza of the French Revolution, with revelers waving all kinds of flags and climbing the base of its central column. Leftists are overjoyed to have one of their own in power for the first time since Socialist Francois Mitterrand was president from 1981 to 1995.

Hollande narrowly defeated the hard-driving, attention-getting Nicolas Sarkozy, an America-friendly leader who led France through its worst economic troubles since World War II but whose policies and personality proved too bitter for many voters to swallow. He will take office no later than May 16.

Sarkozy is the latest victim of a wave of voter anger over spending cuts in Europe that has ousted governments and leaders in the past couple of years.

In France, with 95 per cent of the vote counted, official results showed Hollande with 51.6 per cent of the vote compared with Sarkozy's 48.4 per cent, the Interior Ministry said. The turnout was a strong 81 per cent.

"Too many divisions, too many wounds, too many breakdowns and divides have separated our fellow citizens. This is over now," Hollande said in his victory speech, alluding to the divisive Sarkozy presidency. "The foremost duty of the president of the Republic is to unite ... in order to face the challenges that await us." Those challenges are legion, and begin with Europe's debt crisis.

Hollande has said his first act after the election will be to write a letter to other European leaders calling for a renegotiation of a budget-trimming treaty aimed at bringing the continent's economies closer together. Hollande wants to allow for government-funded stimulus programs in hopes of restarting growth, arguing that debts will only get worse if Europe's economies don't start growing again. — AP 

Hollande to take office on May 15

New French President Francois Hollande will officially take over on May 15, local media said on Monday.

Citing Elysee source, the local broadcaster Europe 1 reported the date of power transfer was decided by General Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic Xavier Musca and Hollande's campaign manager, Pierre Moscovici. Sunday's presidential run-off gave France its first socialist head of state after Francois Mitterand quit power in 1995. — ANI

Parties backing austerity fail to get majority in Greece

Athens: Greece’s two pro-austerity parties missed an absolute majority in parliamentary elections, data based on 99 per cent of votes showed on Monday, throwing the eurozone country into political uncertainty.

The socialist Pasok party and the conservatives of New Democracy (ND) scored just 32.1 per cent between them, down from 77.4 per cent in the 2009 vote, giving them 149 MPs in the 300-seat Parliament, the interior ministry figures showed.

Five other parties opposed to the terms of the country's two international bailouts have won the other seats, including the leftist Syriza with 52 seats, the right-wing Independent Greeks with 33 and the communist KKE with 26.

The outcome throws the eurozone country into political turmoil since poll winner Antonis Samaras of New Democracy, once he is formally tasked with doing so by the president, will find it hard to form a government.

Socialists hold key in Serbia

Belgrade: The Socialist Party of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic held the key to power in Serbia on Monday after an inconclusive election in which voters punished the ruling Democratic Party for their economic woes.

The Democrats, part of a reformist bloc that ousted Milosevic in 2000 and tilted Serbia westwards, saw their support crumble to some 23 per cent from 38 per cent in 2008, hurt by a downturn that has left a quarter of the workforce jobless.

With the Socialists in the driving seat, the horse-trading to build a government may take up much of the available 90 days. 

Putin begins historic third term as Prez 
JOB SWAP Russian strongman proposes Madvedev as PM

President Vladimir Putin (left) and former president Dmitry Medvedev walk in Moscow’s Kremlin during an inauguration ceremony on Monday. — AP/PTI

Moscow, May 7
Vladimir Putin was today sworn in as Russian President for a record third term and vowed to protect rights and freedoms, even as demonstrations marked his second coming to the Kremlin that was marred by allegations of vote rigging.

Putin has held a tight grip over the Russian polity for the past 12 years, first as the President and then as the Prime Minister, and a chorus of voices against his authoritarian rule has risen over the past few months.

"I swear on the power invested in me as the President of the Russian Federation to respect and protect the rights and freedom of its citizens," Putin said, his right hand placed on a red-bound copy of the Russian Constitution as he officially took over reins from Dimitry Medvedev. Putin, who was the President of the former Soviet republic from 2000-2008, returned to claim the presidency after an absence of four years in which he served as the PM.

Soon after his inauguration, Putin proposed his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev's name for the PM in line with a job swap agreement between the two.

The lower house of the Duma is expected to hold a special session to consider Medvedev's confirmation which is a formality.

Meanwhile, protests were held by the opposition against Putin's continued hold on power. While 120 people, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, were arrested today, over 400 were detained in a protest yesterday.

Putin was forced to step down in 2008 under a Constitutional clause that forbids more than two subsequent terms, but is silent on further presidential stints. He then shifted to the post of prime minister after installing his protege Medvedev in the Kremlin, but remained by far Russia's most powerful politician.

Putin, a former KGB officer, won a third term as president in controversial elections in March which were marked by allegations of vote rigging in favour of his United Russia party.

If he completes his six-year term, Putin will be the longest serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin.

In a short speech Putin said Russia was "entering a new phase of national development". — PTI