April 16, 2007. Copyright 2007, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Can Segolene Royal win through to the second ballot?
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, April 16, Graphic News:  If she does not make it through to the second round of presidential polls in France, some may ponder whether Segolene Royal was indeed too good to be true. After a sensational start in which the countryÕs first female presidential candidate seemed certain to shatter the fiercely chauvinistic political establishment, the Socialist politician is now struggling to stay in the race.

When Royal, 53, first emerged as frontrunner for her partyÕs nomination, they called her the ÒphenomeneÓ. Recently, however, she has made headlines for the wrong reasons, including a much publicized dispute with her partner, Socialist secretary Francois Hollande, over the issue of raising taxes, leading some to label him a liability in her bid for the presidency.

But the photogenic mother-of-four has also raised eyebrows with some undiplomatic forays into world affairs, including a visit to Lebanon when she told a Hezbollah MP that she agreed with some of his wild comments about George Bush and the United States. She also appeared to call for independence for the Canadian province of Quebec.

The question for voters is whether they are prepared to overlook her inexperience in world affairs to allow her the chance to join a clutch of woman leaders, including GermanyÕs Angela Merkel, and set about transforming France. Despite a political career of more than two decades, she is still a fresh face in a country in dire need of change.

Born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1953, Royal was the fourth of eight children whose Catholic army colonel father reportedly imposed a strict upbringing short on childish pleasures. A biographer has noted that Royal was a rebel who decided her destiny early on. At the Ecole Nationale dÕAdministration, the hothouse for future leaders, she met Hollande, her longtime partner and father of her children.

After graduating in 1980, she and Hollande worked as advisers to Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. Since then Royal, a four-time elected MP, has been minister for the environment, and held portfolios for education, and childhood and family.

But it was not until 2004 that she burst into the spotlight by winning the premiership of Poitou-Charentes, on the Atlantic coast. Since then her elegant good looks have made her a media magnet in a way most Socialist politicians can only dream of. Sour grapes may help to explain othersÕ claims that her CV shows experience on soft issues but no real grasp of national policy.

Among voters, however, Royal has won praise for her tough stand on issues such as pornography and teenage pregnancy. She is one of the few Socialists to oppose same sex marriages, and her social conservatism has led to comparisons with British prime minister Tony Blair, whom she openly admires for his modernisation of the Labour party.

As a working mother, the soft-spoken Royal is easier for many women to relate to than more familiar grandees of the Elysee Palace. She has based her campaign on the noble ideals of the flag, family and work, but polls show that many voters are unsure as to whether she has the abilities to put these into action.

With centrist candidate Francois Bayrou and even far right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen closing in on her, the French left will be hoping that she lives up to her early promise.
/ENDS