Socialists Win In France: Sarkozy Concedes Defeat

Sarkozy Concedes Defeat To Hollande

Socialist Francois Hollande swept to victory in France's presidential election on Sunday in a swing to the left at the heart of Europe that could start a pushback against German-led austerity.Jubilant left-wingers celebrated outside Socialist Party headquarters and in Paris' Bastille square, where revelers danced in 1981 when Francois Mitterrand became France's only other Socialist president.

Hollande's clear win should give the self-styled "Mr Normal" the authority to press German Chancellor Angela Merkel to accept a policy shift towards fostering growth in Europe to balance the austerity that has fueled anger across southern Europe.

His margin also positions the Socialists strongly to win a left-wing majority in parliamentary elections next month, vital to implement his plans for a swift tax reform.

The next article gives the sad punch line. France, along with the majority of EU countries (and the U.S.) is going broke, under the weight of government hand-outs and an enormous tax burden. So what does this socialist propose? That question takes us to the next article:

Socialist Francois Hollande Wins French Presidency

Analysts say the vote has wide implications for the whole eurozone. Mr Hollande has vowed to rework a deal on government debt in member countries.

Mr Hollande has called for a renegotiation of a hard-won European treaty on budget discipline championed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr Sarkozy.

The socialist candidate has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1m euros a year.

He wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.

Raise taxes and increase the minimum wage. We'll see how that works out.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, another predictable development:

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood Rise From The Ashes

At a meeting of Syria's opposition, Muslim Brotherhood officials gather round Marxists colleagues, nudging them to produce policy statements for the Syrian National Council, the main political group challenging President Bashar al-Assad.

...the Brotherhood has recovered to become the dominant force of the exile opposition in the 14-month-old revolt against his son Bashar.

Careful not to undermine the council's disparate supporters, the Brotherhood has played down its growing influence within the Syrian National Council (SNC), whose public face is the secular Paris-based professor Bourhan Ghalioun.

Tello, however, acknowledged that the Brotherhood has clawed back influence inside Syria, especially in the cities of Homs and Hama and the rural province of Idlib on the border with Turkey, hotbeds of the revolt against Assad.

This is no small feat after three decades in the political wilderness. Unlike Arab rulers who tried to co-opt the movement by granting it limited operation, the Assads excluded it and all other opposition from the political system.

And below, Joel Rosenberg gives another nice summary of recent events of prophetic significance:

Israel Mobilizes Six Reserve Army Battalions: New Elections Likely Set For Sept. 4 - How Does That Affect Iran War Timetable?

Interesting developments in the epicenter this week:

• Netanyahu and his Likud party move to call new elections, likely Sept 4th
• Some key Israeli political analysts speculate Netanyahu wants to consolidate his political power and strengthen his coalition — polls show Likud poised to rise from 27 to possibly 31 seats — in order to launch a preemptive military strike on Iran in September or October, after the Israeli elections but before the American elections
• An “October Surprise” could put President Obama in a difficult position, perhaps less able to criticize or block an Israeli move
• At the same time, the Israelis continue to make obvious preparations for war
• This week Israel took possession of a brand new German built submarine capable of launching nuclear missiles
• This week Israel also mobilized six reserve army battalions and put more on notification that they could be called up into active duty soon
• That said, it would be a mistake to rule out the possibility of an Israeli first strike sooner than September — both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are stating that time to neutralize the Iran threat is running out and the time for action is drawing near
• Opponents of war inside are growing more vocal — even a number of former high ranking Israeli generals and intelligence officials gave spoken out recently in sharp criticism of Netanyahu and Barak
• Prophetic implications? Hard to say at this point. Vladimir Putin comes back to power as president (read: czar) of Russia on May 7 and coplay throw his weight in against an Israeli strike. Were that to happen, that could suggest we are moving towards the “War of Gog and Magog” described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. We also need to keep in mind the coming fulfillment of the destruction of Damascus as foretold in Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49. Does that happen before or after the Magog war? The Scriptures do not say, so I don’t know. But we need to be prayerful, proactive and prepared for these and other scenarios, especially given the growing alliance between Russia and Iran and the evil of the Assad regime. Leaders reap what they sow, and the leaders of these nations — tragically — are poised to reap a whirlwind.