{UAH} Francois Fillon's enemies hope family affair will end presidential bid

Robert Atuhaiewe,

The French presidential candidate Mr Fillon is in a right pickle because of employing his wife, and his presidential ambitions may well be ruined beyond repair. This goes to show you how certain political cultures abhor Nepotism and the debilitating and  demoralizing influence it can have in public life. But compare this attitude to the chronic nepotism and patronage that characterize the modus operandi of governance by GMG (Grand Mufti of Graft) kayibanda Museveni, who has no qualms employing his wife, son, brother, daughter, grand-daughter, mistresses, in  laws  and a full battalion of hangers-on in government offices even when none of them have the training, experience or expertise to be in such roles.

Bobby

Francois Fillon's enemies hope family affair will end presidential bid

By Hugh Schofield BBC News, Paris

• 27 January 2017
             
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Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mr Fillon's enemies hope that so-called "Penelope-gate" will be an embarrassing fall from grace

Francois Fillon has promised to hit back fast with the facts that show his British wife Penelope is above suspicion, after prosecutors launched a preliminary investigation into claims that she received public money improperly.

He needs to do just that. Otherwise this family affair could have grave consequences indeed on his chances to be the next French president.

"Judicial time is not political time is not media time," says BFMTV's political commentator Laurent Neumann.

"The prosecutors may take weeks examining the allegations. [Mr] Fillon needs to squash them now," he added.

According to Mr Fillon's lawyers, the documents currently being fast-tracked to the prosecutors' office will demolish the central charge that for more than eight years Penelope Fillon was paid for non-existent work as his parliamentary assistant.

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But the problem for Mr Fillon is that even if he provides proof that his wife did indeed earn her 500,000 euros (£430,000; $534,000), that does not mean the end of the affair.

All may have been done strictly according to the law - and indeed to common parliamentary practice - but the image many voters will retain is of yet another senior politician feeding from the public trough.

Add in the second allegation carried by Le Canard Enchaine - that Mrs Fillon was paid 100,000 euros for a sinecure publishing job provided by a billionaire friend of her husband's - and you can see why right now Republican Party eyes are distinctly unsmiling.

French media on 'Penelope-gate'

Thursday's French media were full of what is now inevitably being called Penelope-gate - with Mr Fillon's enemies relishing what they hope will be an embarrassing fall from grace.

For the left-leaning French newspaper Liberation, Mr Fillon has "built his political personality around an image of rigour, sobriety, financial sacrifice and public morality.

"A bit like the sinning preacher, Francois Fillon now has to his explain his contradictions to the faithful. Three months from a decisive election, it is a perilous exercise."

Le Monde recalls that successive presidential elections in the past have been rocked by "boules puantes" (stink bombs) - allegations of corruption stored up by political enemies and then released at the most damaging moment.

The paper says it is "anything but evident" that Mrs Fillon did the work that earned her the large salary. In its original report, Le Canard Enchaine quoted another of Mr Fillon's assistants as saying: "I never worked with her. For me she was the minister's wife."

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mrs Fillon's payment of 100,000 euros for publishing work with a magazine is under the spotlight

But it is not just Mr Fillon's image as a man of probity that is in danger, says Le Monde.

There is also the fact that in his economic message he is urging the French to tighten belts and prepare for tough times. In the nation's current mood, there is little tolerance for politicians who come across as hypocrites.

Less has been made of the second part of Le Canard Enchaine's story - the 100,000 euros allegedly paid to Mrs Fillon for work as literary adviser on La Revue Des Deux Mondes.

The highbrow magazine is owned by the billionaire businessman and patron of the arts Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, who is also a friend of Mr Fillon.

According to Le Canard Enchaine, the only work Mrs Fillon produced between May 2012 and December 2013 consisted of two 400-word book reviews.

And it quotes the then-director of the magazine, Michel Crepu, as saying: "I am stupefied. I have never met Penelope Fillon and I never saw her in our office."

Less has been made of the allegation, because there is no public money involved. But the potential damage is no less real.

Mr Fillon's supporters are furious that the allegations have been made public just now - a sign, they are sure, that the affair is politically orchestrated.

They are right: the timing is almost certainly deliberate, and Mr Fillon's enemies may indeed be responsible.

But that in itself is not an answer.

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