The people matter.

The people have spoken. Nicolas Sarkozy is out. He got 48.1% of the votes compared to Francois Hollande who got 51.9%. The reason is " austerity " which means cutting government spending by sacking public servants, reducing salaries and pensions and increasing the age of retirement. The result has been increasing unemployment, especially among the young, falling living standards and fall in property values. The whole crisis was caused by very low interest rates leading to spiraling property prices and increasing individual and public sector debts. Banks lent money to people without checking if they could repay their loans thinking that property prices will keep on rising infinitely so they could always repossess properties and sell them at profits. When the market collapsed in 2008 banks were left with huge debts they could not service. Panicked by the prospect of financial meltdown governments rushed to guarantee bank debts, effectively nationalising them. Having taken on massive debts on their books governments had to resort to vicious cuts in spending leading to terrible public pain. Meanwhile, bank officials, even those rescued by taxpayer money, continued to give themselves multi-million dollar bonuses enraging the public who, having no power to punish politicians for their criminal collusion, have been voting governments out of office. In Greece, which voted in parliamentary elections yesterday, the 2 main parties have seen their seats slashed. According to exit polls, conservative New Democracy Party got 19-20.5% of votes, socialist Pasok Party got 13-14%, down from 44% in 2009, while radical left wing coalition, Syriza has come second with 15.5-17% of votes. Syriza and the extreme right, Golden Dawn Party, which got 6-8% of vote are against austerity. In Britain the Conservative Party of Prime Minister, David Cameron lost 405 seats in council elections and lost control of 12 councils. Their coalition partners, the Lib Dems lost 329 seats while opposition Labour Party gained 824 seats and gained control of 32 councils. Following the drubbing Cameron stuck stubbornly to his support for austerity saying that the government' job is to " do everything to demonstrate we are on the side of the people that work hard and do the right thing for themselves and their families - that's who we are fighting for, that's who we must govern for ". A clear insult to the unemployed who cannot work hard if they have no jobs. Speaking of Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne their own party MP, Nadine Dorries said," I think that not only are Cameron and Osborne two posh boys who don't know the price of milk, but they are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others - and that is their real crime." She could be describing our lot except that they are definitely not posh, but a bunch of low class crooks who care nothing for people or country as long as they have their snouts in the trough. Democracy is not much different from oligarchy. Is it?