33 years… since the death of Salvador Allende. And Chile innovates again.
Tonight, Michelle Bachelet, 54, single mother, was elected President of the Republic of Chile, representing a large coalition from the center left with 53,22%. She’s a medical doctor (paediatrician), former Heath Minister, former Defense minister, and former political prisoner.
I don’t really care that the President is a woman, but it is noteworthy that this candidate has managed to grab the top position in a very conservative & machist continent and country. For instance, divorce was just legalized a couple of years ago… Indeed, she’s the first fifth (thanks for the correction Mike! in the comments) female President in the whole South American continent ever. The African contient had a female President recently, and so have Nordic countries, Ireland, etc. What really counts is the program and the team supporting the candidate. Therefore it is really laughable that French socialist Ségolène Royal recently visited Chile to support Michelle Bachelet, in the hopes that this would help her own candidacy to French presidential elections in 2007. Being a woman and being socialist is just not enough for a campaign platform… And on the other side, it’s not just because you become a media manipulation master as French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has proven, that you will get elected.
I wish all these political parties would tell us :
- what their program for the country is. Not just for the next presidential term (4–5 years), but for the short tem, mid term and long term of the nation
- explain why their program is good for the country (and typically not just why their opponent’s program is bad)
- explain why do they feel their team is better suited to execute on this program, and what have they done that shows their execution capabilities.
I’m getting tired of all these power-hungry candidates, all shooting each other in order to win primaries, just to get to the top position, and fly to the UN, Davos and G8 conventions. Political parties have become sales machines to sell a candidate. Then they should apply the #1 rule of selling: you don’t sell, you make people buy your product. I’m of course naïve and idealistic, but elected officials serve for the good of all, not just for a minority, and they execute their ideas on our cash. They should never forget that. Indeed, when a company brings a product to market, it has to face its customers.
I hear here and there that videoblogging will boom during this 2007 French presidential campaign. Great, because this will bring debate on the political scene. A discussion held in your neighbourhood market brought to the national scene. And candidates will have to reply, argue and convince. Better democracy. Better ideas, better execution.
Note: not much on main mass media tonight yet. Sad that they don’t report with more celerity.
Her official site is on http://www.bacheletpresidente.cl/.
Update: thanks to Marion in the comments, I should clarify that I totally support this new President. My political family is center-left, and if you read this blog, you should know it by now. However, no government in the world has ever allowed me to vote. If I had a voting right, I would have voted for her.
