The era of uncertainty

What headline best suits Sunday's elections in France, as well as Greece? "Post-election tears" or "Post-election hopes"? It depends who you ask.

The many revelers Sunday night in Paris' Place de la Bastille most likely saw the future as rosy (pink is the color of the French Socialist party), or as red (Communists), or green (the Greens). Still, the outcome of French elections has done little to allay fears in world markets.

The markets had a great deal more faith in Nicolas Sarkozy, much more so than the French people had. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel would have preferred a different partner in the Elysee Palace to help stabilize the euro zone. Hollande's election will only exacerbate the threat that the euro zone presents to the rest of the world economy.

On Sunday, one French television channel released a survey showing that most French people believe that neither Hollande nor Sarkozy is capable of surmounting the economic crisis. In France as well as Greece, voters cast votes of protest against the ruling parties. This is a new global phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen's National Front lies in wait. Greece, too, has seen a rise of the radical Right amid the political chaos. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party is expected to win 7 percent of the vote. Its entry into parliament can only bring tears, as opposed to hope. France, unlike Greece, is not a shipwreck, but there too all the conditions are ripe for a flowering of the radical Right: an economic crisis, xenophobia, uncontrollable illegal immigration. The new French president will need to exercise a lot of responsibility and caution. As will his right-wing opposition.

Paradoxically, the Republican Right led by Sarkozy until Sunday is becoming a partner of the Socialists in this time of severe economic crisis and difficult social problems.

The radical Right, for its part, already sees itself as a ruling alternative. On Sunday night, Marine Le Pen declared that she is the real opposition. She defined herself as "tough," "honest," and "self-confident." How typical. Le Pen sees herself in the Elysee Palace 10 years from now, maybe even in five if Hollande proves to be a failure. Hollande doesn't have time to play around. From the presidential palace, his program will suddenly look a lot harder to implement.

Sarkozy wished him luck and meant it sincerely. He is level-headed enough to understand that failure for Hollande would mean a victory for Marine Le Pen. And besides, everyone here wants to continue eating croissants in the morning and foie gras for lunch. They're French, after all.

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