Is the Future in Europe?

Two news item from Europe this week tell us that the social future is in Europe and not in Venezuela.

In Paris, former president Jacques Chirac will stand trial on some funky business when he was mayor of Paris. During his 12 years tenure at the presidency he managed to dodge the issue claiming that a president benefited from judicial immunity during his tenure. Now, he is again a simple citizen and his past is finally catching up to him. Interestingly the more sympathetic comment came from his socialist adversaries, one of them regretting that such a trial would affect the needed majesty of the presidency.

Whatever the case might be, it is refreshing to see that the French quasi monarchic presidency is brought down from its cloud. First the term was lowered from 7 to 5 years, and last year, sitting president Sarkozy supported yet a new constitutional change that limited the presidency hold to a maximum of two consecutive terms. I need not offend your intelligence by reminding you how the Chavez presidency has become eternal, imperial and unaccountable. Por ahora.

Across the border in Germany a new government has been sworn in. It includes as the number 2 figure, vice-chancellor and foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, openly gay politician with hubby, leading the Liberal party of Germany (Free Democrats, neo-liberal in US terms). Of course, my first thought is for gay movement of the US who like African Americans have tied hopelessly their fate to the fortunes of the Democratic party just to be used and discarded as needed. Or should I remind folks for example how blacks voted for Obama in California while shooting down gay marriage there? So pays the Devil.

Amusingly the first foreign trip of Westerwelle is to Poland where he met with Catholic militant (and possible homophobe?) very conservative president Lech Kaczynski. I had to put the picture because I find the meeting hilarious, when one knows all the past of these two countries and their troubled relationship. If anything says social progress in Europe, it has got to be scenes like this one.

Right now I cannot imagine a meeting between cheap macho Chavez and Westervelle. I am pretty sure that either him or his boss Angela Merkel will try to avoid such a meeting as much as possible. I can even imagine the vulgar pleasure that Chavez might take during one of his Alo Cadena in preparation to such a meeting, or after that one. He would talk good words but in such a tone and context so as to make them in fact a vulgar mockery. After all Chavez is the president who has managed to put 4 women in the 5 powers of Venezuela, to the contrary expected effect. All of them look like maids there, put up by Chavez so they can do whatever he orders them to do. It is amazing that the fact that 4 out of 5 top political positions occupied by women in Venezuela end up in fact as a regression on women's lib, in effect looking much more like a symbol of female submission to the alpha male that tries to find any possible way to screw us.

Truly, the future is not in Venezuela.... But one can always dream of Chavez on trial (with much m more serious charges than those of Chirac) while a new democratic National Assembly votes gay marriage. Which will happen first?

-The end-