You should see what passes for an intramural scrum in France:
Police searched the home of Dominique de Villepin, the former French Prime Minister, yesterday as judges appeared close to charging him with conspiring to implicate Nicolas Sarkozy, now the President, in a corruption scandal. Criminal charges are thought likely after examining judges unearthed new evidence that appears to put Mr de Villepin, 56, close to the heart of the so-called Clearstream affair.
The scandal, under investigation since 2005, involves forged bank records that suggested falsely that Mr Sarkozy and other senior figures had received big bribes in the sale of French warships to Taiwan.
Mr de Villepin was serving as Foreign and then Interior Minister and Mr Sarkozy, his rival for the future presidency, was Finance, then Interior Minister.
The affair poisoned the already strained relations between Mr de Villepin, the prot?©g?© of Mr Chirac, and the President‚Äôs mutinous subordinate, who was intent on succeeding him.
Now, let me pause a moment to shed a crocodile tear for the imperious M. de Villepin, maitre d’obstructionisme.
There. All done.
For an added bit of richesse atop this delectable patisserie, let me quote “Woody” – who has apparently learnt just enough French never to have heard of the Cardinal de Richelieu – in comments to the article:
The criminalization of politics, run rampant in the US since anti-Clintonites sought to criminalize political policy decisions via enshroudment in personal indictment has now crossed the Atlantique, and is taking root in the soil around Le Palais de Justice. Triste!
This too! It’s all our fault, this, and the politics of enshroudment!
Oh, not those “Woodies”. The original was the Captain of a destroyer in WWII, and always attended NROTC functions at Ohio State, often as the speaker, at which he excelled. The other is, uh, nevermind, but kinda like this guy.
Practicing the French today Lex?
There may be justice in this world after all, eh?
DeVillepin is a charter member of the “Axis of Weasles Club”. Remember?
Something I learned from Lex in here- the weasle does have a hi-fashion model daughter on her 20′s..What a memory, eh?
b2
Damn that politics of enshroudment. It’ll cause trouble every time.
Jim C