Ethics French style

When he was elected President of France, many people wrote that Sarkozy was trying to imitate Berlusconi. AS people say in Italy “Dio li fa e poi li accoppia” (God makes them then marries them).

Even before becoming President, Sarkozy imitated Berlusconi concerning the Press. But, not being rich like Berlusconi, who controls private and public TV (the latter being the Prime Minister) he acted using his friends who own Newspapers, TV stations and Magazines.

So he managed to get fired the Director of the “best” (if this is ever possible) people magazine in France, Paris Match, because the magazine had published a picture of him with his girl-friend (his wife had just left him for a man she recently married, after a short come back with the President).

Now he is after the Public Television. Using the excuse that Public Television must educate the masses, he decided to suppress publicity. The end result ? : a new tax (not bad for a liberal…) on internet and cellular companies broadcasting TV programs as well on the income made by private TV stations on publicity. And cuts in programming and production of Public TV to compensate for the financial loss that will not be covered by the new taxes: quality is priceless, i.e. you can make it cheap. And of course now all TV ads will be on the private TV channels that will have even more money to produce the trash people love. Needless to say, private TV stations belong to Sarkozy’s friends , those same who lend him yachts and private jets for his vacations…..

Icing on the cake, he also introduced a new way for nominating the Head of Public Television: it will be he himself….(with a mechanism still confused by which a Commission, nominated b y the Government, thus by him) will have to give its consent.

Ethics French and Italian style, a real SarkBerlusconi

Picture: www.repubblica.it