Could Harlem Désir, France’s First Black Socialist Party Chief, Become The Next Obama?Posted in Articles, Barack Obama, Europe, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy on 2013-02-11 05:38Z by Steven |
Could Harlem Désir, France’s First Black Socialist Party Chief, Become The Next Obama?
International Business Times
2012-10-26
Jacey Fortin, World Politics Reporter
For the first time ever, a black politician will take the reins of a major political party in France. If all goes well for him, 2022 in France could look a lot like 2008 in the United States.
Harlem Désir, 52, has been serving as the interim Socialist Party head since last year. So it was no surprise he was voted in as the official chief of the bloc that currently controls the parliament and the presidency under Francois Hollande during a party congress in the city of Toulouse on Thursday.
Analysts immediately began comparing the French politician to U.S. President Barack Obama, who broke down racial barriers to win an election for the most powerful political position in the U.S. in 2008.
But Désir is a long way from the presidential post. Hollande is likely to run on the Socialist ticket in 2017 — and even the next Socialist presidential candidate, in 2022, won’t necessarily be Désir.
But he certainly has a fair shot, and that in itself is reason to keep a close eye on this ambitious politician.
Like Obama, Désir has a white mother and a black father. He has a bookish demeanor, although he once campaigned vocally against racial prejudices in France…
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