Brent Budowsky: France To The Rescue!

As European leaders gather in Brussels to shape the fate of the continent, many eyes turn to Francois Hollande, the newly elected president of France and a world leader championing humane and rational economic policies at a time of great human and economic suffering. Before Hollande's victory over conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, I wrote on The Hill's Pundits Blog about what I called "Midnight in Paris" and the French Spring I hoped would begin with a Hollande presidency. The people of France made a fateful choice between two competing philosophies. They elected a president and legislature with a mandate for their belief that jobs can be increased, deficits reduced, and prosperity restored with policies that are both enlightened and rational. As Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told me for this column, "The future of Europe lies with its leadership, and French President Hollande is central to that dynamic. He can expand the narrative over the future of Europe to one where stability and opportunity define the continent's future. I encourage him to seize the moment and make the difference." Hollande faces challenges: He must work with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor who governs like a small-minded banker, always does too little too late, and fails to grasp that we are in this together. He must work with David Cameron, the British prime minister who governs like a merchant banker allied with the widely discredited Liberal Democratic party, which surrendered its soul and its heritage for a powerless seat at the table of power.