Politics is a cut-throat affair... by vignouse

Politics is a cut-throat affair...

...and it's the voters who wield the knife. Because voting in France happens in two stages - the first stage to eliminate all but two candidates and the second to choose between them - voters will often resort to tactical voting or abstention in the first stage in order to send a message to the ruling party.

So it was a week ago for the first stage of the elections for political control of the Regions, which indicated that the National Front would control the majority of Regions with the Republicans and the Socialists in second and third place. Come the final vote yesterday and the Republicans and the Socialists between them control the Regions with the NF completely eliminated.
Wonderful, illustrates the point perfectly I'v heard the French will vote with the nose pinched just to pick the lesser of two evils...
December 15th, 2015  
@jack4john We've been doing the same in Australia for the past couple of years. Although our PMs haven't actually been making it to election day...
December 15th, 2015  
Excellent comp and commentary. I think the world would be a wonderful place if Mitzi and Jackson ruled the world. ;)
December 15th, 2015  
And in the US it happens in many painful stages, and on many fronts. We are still in the insanity of the party primary campaigns that will continue through June next year. And with the Republicans perhaps no real candidate until after the convention.

Anyway, nice commentary in the shot.
December 15th, 2015  
Powerfully done, Richard.
December 15th, 2015  
Sounds like here. Our government is so corrupt. We generally vote for who we think is the lesser of two evils. Sad we can't get honest people who care about our country and its well being.
December 15th, 2015  
Great illustration for your commentary.
December 15th, 2015  
And in South Africa, people continue to vote for the ANC because they are the party that 'freed' them from apartheid - even though that particular government is currently doing nothing for the ordinary person and messing everything up! Oh dear... calm down Debbie... looking at the comments it seems you have opened a can of worms Richard!
December 15th, 2015  
Most effective and emotive image.
December 15th, 2015  
Oh yes. It's been an interesting couple of weeks!
December 15th, 2015  
Great political comment image!n
December 15th, 2015  
We sort of have two stages too but oh my it goes on forever and ever. If I have to listen to one more stupid statement by the guy with the stupid hair I think I might puke. Think Europeans are smarter and just get it over with. This is a good shot. You are trying to branch out from all landscape pictures.
December 15th, 2015  
Graphic image! Interesting times we live in.
December 15th, 2015  
Well illustrated!
December 15th, 2015  
Effective image...things are heating up in USA
December 15th, 2015  
I don't think you'll hear from a single American who isn't fed up with our mess. At least you have it resolved, one way or another.
December 15th, 2015  
Tom
Wonderful great sense of humor and satire
December 16th, 2015  
The French voters sure do it in style! Unfortunately only being able to wield the knife (or give out sweeties) every few years bears little relationship to democracy.
December 16th, 2015  
Fun image and fascinating insight.
December 17th, 2015  
Very nice!! I think it would have been even more effective if you had a butcher block countertop, and the knife pinned the paper right through the candidates to the wood! Oh, wait, that's what Graeme would do....
December 21st, 2015  
@panthora You are right Osia, that would have been the way to go but here's how it played out. I was sitting in my office just before midnight lamenting the poor crop of choices of image available to me for that day's post when I decided that a stiff whisky might help my decision making! I went down to the kitchen to fetch one and there on the countertop was the daily paper with the knife lying beside it. I put the knife on the paper, grabbed a shot, returned to my office with the whisky and the memory card and 5 minutes later it was posted! Some days you just have to go with flow... and I would prefer not to think what Graeme might do with that knife ;-))
December 21st, 2015  
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