Un Seisme

In another earthquake, this one of the French political variety, Prime Minister Leonard Jospin failed to qualify for the run-off presidential election in France. The election had very low turnout, and since Jospin and Chirac were considered shoo-ins for the "real" election on May 5, most French just voted their conscience or to make a statement. Apparently, enough people are anti-immigration and anti-EU to give 17% of the vote to the far-right Le Pen, edging Jospin out.

This is only the latest in a series of electoral backlashes against regionalization in Europe; we all remember the debacle in Austria with the rightist premier, and apparently Italy, Portugal and Denmark have turned right recently as well. The NY Times reports: "Mr. Le Pen's defeat of Mr. Jospin was the latest in a series of blows to the European left that began in Italy last year, spread to Denmark and Portugal and could engulf the Netherlands and Germany next."

As a somewhat populist conservative (though not a rightist in the full sense of the word), I can't help but grin at the chagrin of the European liberal elites. They've always thought themselves superior to the Americans, and they lead like elites, rather than following the will of the people. This wake-up call will slow European unification, and will force politicians to take the important intangibles of culture and national identity into account.