Hollande Faces Hurdle to Spending Cuts as Socialists Revolt
By Mark Deen Apr 22, 2014 5:02 AM ET
French President Francois Hollande’s biggest hurdle in pushing through a plan to cut public spending is emerging from within his own Socialist ranks.
After his newly appointed prime minister, Manuel Valls, presented details of a package of 50 billion euros ($69 billion) in cuts last week, lawmaker Laurent Baumel called it “intolerable,” saying he’s “a Socialist, not a Hollandist.” His colleague Cristian Paul deemed it “unacceptable,” while Senator Marie-Noelle Lienemann said it was an “economic aberration” based on the “dogma of lowering labor costs” and vowed to vote against the plan.
The reaction among a small yet vocal group of Socialist lawmakers increases the risk Hollande will have to water down his deficit-cutting plans, rely on opposition votes or -- more damaging yet -- face an election if a vote on the package fails. Socialist lawmakers will meet with Valls today to propose an alternative set of spending cuts.
“The group is unpredictable, malcontent and disoriented,” Gerard Grunberg, an analyst at Paris’s Institute of Political Sciences, said in an interview. “All that’s needed is a small piece of legislation that they really don’t like and they could revolt. A vote of no-confidence isn’t likely but I exclude nothing.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-21/hollande-faces-biggest-hurdle-to-spending-cuts-from-own-party.html
