Royal with Cheese

"Quelques arpents de neige": A few acres of snow Voltaire's description of Canada might play a role in the French Presidential Election. It is unlikely that Ségolène Royal is about to meet her Waterloo over A few acres of snow. Yet a few acres of snow might be her Stalingrad. A whole series of foreign policy gaffes ranging from Canada to China from Palestine to Iran have come up. Royal looks more like a triumph of style over substance. Now her handlers probably wish they could gag her. By wading into the snowy waste of Canadian politics her limitations as a national and international leader has come to light. Her comments on Quebec have now morphed into questions on Corsica as well. The French would not like a Canadian Prime Minister giving support to Basque or Corsican separatists. Nor would the French like some self-proclaimed Caliphate supporting freedom for French Muslims. Her concern for freedom in Quebec is touching but bear in mind that Canada ranks higher on press freedom than does France, not to mention corruption where Canada fairs better than France. Perhaps another quote from Voltaire to ponder "My God defend me from my friends; I can defend myself from my enemies"