Well, what can I say, it has been a while! My defence? None really, laziness maybe, lack of internet access in my new flat, too many recent trips abroad? No, think I will stick with laziness, it has got me a long way so far in a little over 25 years!
Ok, weird title this time I suppose, unless you have already worked it out of course in which case it is probably already looking a little mundane and old fashioned.
So, let’s start with Sicko, the documentary film about the US health system. I saw it a couple of weeks ago here in snowy Vienna, and on the whole I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are, however, one or two minor points I would like to make. Firstly, about an hour into the film, after the footage of the man sewing his own knee back together, and the story of the fella who lost his fingers in an accident and could only afford to have one put back on, the film heads over the water to Europe to do a little bit of compare and contrast. Now, obviously Mr Moore is allowed a little bit of artistic licence to exaggerate slightly to prove a point, I don’t have a problem with that, but to suggest that the NHS is some kind of medical Utopia is going a little bit too far in my book. Yes it is free, yes doctors do earn a pretty decent salary and yes medicines are relatively cheap when prescribed by a doctor. However, there was no mention of the waiting lists, or the waiting rooms in casualty for that matter, or the shortage of beds, the shortage of staff, or the Superbugs that seemingly render most visits to a hospital more dangerous than an auditioning to be a blind knife throwers assistant. Of course, to mention such things would somewhat take the gloss off the rosy picture he is trying to paint. And we wouldn’t want that in a documentary would we?
Then there is France, a country with a equally wonderful health system, where the staff speak better English than the fat American asking the questions, and where the state provides child care, lengthy maternity leave and someone who can cook you carrot soup of an evening should you desire. Why you would want carrot soup I’m not quite sure. Again, having lived in France I know that it is not quite as rosy as he makes out, but why let the truth get in the way of a good documentary! (Notice I haven’t even mentioned his little trip to Cuba) The problem for me is that what is obviously a very noble aim, i.e. to highlight the current problems with the Healthcare system, the whole thing lacks credibility due to his methods, and his selective use of the facts. Add to that that he doesn’t even mention the taxation levels in the UK or France which pay for the system and I left the cinema feeling a little bit let down. There wasn’t even any sensible alternative suggested. That brings me nicely onto the second part of today’s post, namely Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy, Président de la République!
Now, I had the good/bad fortune to be in Paris last week. Good, because I love Paris. Bad, because it felt like the whole bloody country was on strike. In reality it wasn’t, only the train companies were striking (well there were some others but they didn’t really affect me at the time). The reason they are on strike is to do with pensions, and how long they will have to contribute to the state run scheme before retiring. For most people it is 40 years, but for the so-called “Special Regimes” it is 37,5 years. Sarkozy wants to make it 40.
The first thing I should point out is that one of the things I like most about France, apart from the food, the women, beaches, the wine, the pastis and the lifestyle, is the level of political engagement present in the average French person. As such, there is a very strong and deep rooted social movement that regularly leads to demonstrations, marches, and frequently strikes. I think it is brilliant that the people have so much interest and power, so much so in fact that the government is scared of the people. In the UK if the government said “right, from now on you all have to work 4 years longer, pay double the taxes and take less holiday” sure we would complain, and grumble, and threaten all sorts of things, but ultimately we would just get on with it. Not so in France. This has been going on for hundreds of years in France, and part of me hopes it will continue. At the same time, I understand that if it does continue it spells bad new for the country as a whole.
Strikes are a regular occurrence, but this one is a little bit different. Sarkozy won the election with a very clear message – France has to change in order to survive. At the time I likened the situation in France to that in the UK in the late 70s – high unemployment, social unrest, strong unions and protectionist policies that were crippling competition. Sarko said that this would stop, and he would push through the necessary reforms. So, he told us what he was going to do, and the French people said a fairly resounding “Oui”. Then he started to do it, and there was much waving of hands, a sharp intake of breath, and a fairly clear “Non”. And now, not only are the trains on strike, but every bugger else too. Judges, teachers, baggage handlers, post men, you name it, they are currently sitting at home with their feet up.
The question is how long will Sarko hold out? In 1995 Chirac lasted three weeks before giving in, if Sarkozy is serious about changing the country it could take a lot longer than that. Personally, I think he will compromise sooner rather than later, and lose a lot of credibility along the way. In the meantime, good luck to all my French friends!
Something lighter next time, I promise.
Au Revoir!
Ok, weird title this time I suppose, unless you have already worked it out of course in which case it is probably already looking a little mundane and old fashioned.
So, let’s start with Sicko, the documentary film about the US health system. I saw it a couple of weeks ago here in snowy Vienna, and on the whole I enjoyed it thoroughly. There are, however, one or two minor points I would like to make. Firstly, about an hour into the film, after the footage of the man sewing his own knee back together, and the story of the fella who lost his fingers in an accident and could only afford to have one put back on, the film heads over the water to Europe to do a little bit of compare and contrast. Now, obviously Mr Moore is allowed a little bit of artistic licence to exaggerate slightly to prove a point, I don’t have a problem with that, but to suggest that the NHS is some kind of medical Utopia is going a little bit too far in my book. Yes it is free, yes doctors do earn a pretty decent salary and yes medicines are relatively cheap when prescribed by a doctor. However, there was no mention of the waiting lists, or the waiting rooms in casualty for that matter, or the shortage of beds, the shortage of staff, or the Superbugs that seemingly render most visits to a hospital more dangerous than an auditioning to be a blind knife throwers assistant. Of course, to mention such things would somewhat take the gloss off the rosy picture he is trying to paint. And we wouldn’t want that in a documentary would we?
Then there is France, a country with a equally wonderful health system, where the staff speak better English than the fat American asking the questions, and where the state provides child care, lengthy maternity leave and someone who can cook you carrot soup of an evening should you desire. Why you would want carrot soup I’m not quite sure. Again, having lived in France I know that it is not quite as rosy as he makes out, but why let the truth get in the way of a good documentary! (Notice I haven’t even mentioned his little trip to Cuba) The problem for me is that what is obviously a very noble aim, i.e. to highlight the current problems with the Healthcare system, the whole thing lacks credibility due to his methods, and his selective use of the facts. Add to that that he doesn’t even mention the taxation levels in the UK or France which pay for the system and I left the cinema feeling a little bit let down. There wasn’t even any sensible alternative suggested. That brings me nicely onto the second part of today’s post, namely Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy, Président de la République!
Now, I had the good/bad fortune to be in Paris last week. Good, because I love Paris. Bad, because it felt like the whole bloody country was on strike. In reality it wasn’t, only the train companies were striking (well there were some others but they didn’t really affect me at the time). The reason they are on strike is to do with pensions, and how long they will have to contribute to the state run scheme before retiring. For most people it is 40 years, but for the so-called “Special Regimes” it is 37,5 years. Sarkozy wants to make it 40.
The first thing I should point out is that one of the things I like most about France, apart from the food, the women, beaches, the wine, the pastis and the lifestyle, is the level of political engagement present in the average French person. As such, there is a very strong and deep rooted social movement that regularly leads to demonstrations, marches, and frequently strikes. I think it is brilliant that the people have so much interest and power, so much so in fact that the government is scared of the people. In the UK if the government said “right, from now on you all have to work 4 years longer, pay double the taxes and take less holiday” sure we would complain, and grumble, and threaten all sorts of things, but ultimately we would just get on with it. Not so in France. This has been going on for hundreds of years in France, and part of me hopes it will continue. At the same time, I understand that if it does continue it spells bad new for the country as a whole.
Strikes are a regular occurrence, but this one is a little bit different. Sarkozy won the election with a very clear message – France has to change in order to survive. At the time I likened the situation in France to that in the UK in the late 70s – high unemployment, social unrest, strong unions and protectionist policies that were crippling competition. Sarko said that this would stop, and he would push through the necessary reforms. So, he told us what he was going to do, and the French people said a fairly resounding “Oui”. Then he started to do it, and there was much waving of hands, a sharp intake of breath, and a fairly clear “Non”. And now, not only are the trains on strike, but every bugger else too. Judges, teachers, baggage handlers, post men, you name it, they are currently sitting at home with their feet up.
The question is how long will Sarko hold out? In 1995 Chirac lasted three weeks before giving in, if Sarkozy is serious about changing the country it could take a lot longer than that. Personally, I think he will compromise sooner rather than later, and lose a lot of credibility along the way. In the meantime, good luck to all my French friends!
Something lighter next time, I promise.
Au Revoir!
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