Word: socialists
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...doesn't bother other burakumin that Nonaka doesn't want to be a poster-boy for their cause. After all, they haven't been his staunchest supporters, either. Burakumin have traditionally backed socialist and communist parties, while the conservative Nonaka staked his early career on chipping away at the communists' grip on power in Kyoto. "If he becomes Prime Minister," says Kanto, "it won't really change much for us. It would be more difficult for him to do things for us, because at the top, he would have to deal with too many other issues...
...chortled, but can't even count ballots. Worst of all, they make a travesty of popular government by giving the leadership of the free world to the guy who came in second. On a smaller scale, but with huge political implications, the same thing happened in Paris last week: Socialist Bert-rand Delanoë won only 49.6% of the popular vote but picked up a majority of municipal council seats because of a precinct-based voting system roughly similar to the U.S. Electoral College. So much for the French lesson in democracy...
...partying went on until 2 a.m. in front of the Hôtel de Ville, Paris' city hall, as Delanoë made a victory speech and accordionists entertained champagne-swilling supporters of his Socialist-Communist-Green coalition. But while they celebrated wresting control of the French capital from the Gaullist Rally for the Republic party that has ruled it for nearly a quarter century, elsewhere the picture was bleak. In the voting for mayors and city councils of 36,000 municipalities, Gaullist and center-right parties took 38 large and midsize cities from the left and lost only...
...which was bad news for Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who is expected to square off against Gaullist President Jacques Chirac in next year's national elections. Pollsters and pundits had predicted a "pink tide" of leftist victories that would have given Jospin a crucial boost in advance of next spring's parliamentary and presidential votes. Instead, Jospin was engulfed by a "blue tide" of conservative victories that raised worrisome questions about his future chances. Perhaps the most alarming sign was that five of his cabinet members were defeated in local contests, including such stalwarts as Labor Minister Elisabeth Guigou...
...pressure from the energy industry, recently tore up his own campaign promise to cut carbon-dioxide outputs from power stations. And if he's prepared to treat his own environment secretary like Cinderella, he was always going to give short shrift to the pleas of a German "Third Way" socialist...