French Government Scandal Called A Crisis



French Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac Disgraced

(Paris, France) How does one say "the government is having a cow" in French?

Former Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac's political life continued to crumble around him on Wednesday. A day after he was charged with with tax fraud the Socialist Party expelled him from their ranks and he was given a pasting by politicians and the press.

France's disgraced former Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac was expelled from the Socialist Party on Wednesday a day after he admitted lying about hiding away money from the tax man in a Swiss bank account.

It was the latest stage in the downfall of a man once tasked with cracking down on tax evasion, who now faces charges himself of "laundering the proceeds of tax fraud".

Socialist Party chief Harlem Desir announced on Wednesday morning that Cahuzac had been expelled.

It was another nail in the coffin of the political career of a man, who was considered a government heavyweight and key ally of François Hollande. It could get worse still for Cahuzac, who now faces a jail sentence and hefty fine if found guilty.

Interestingly, Cahuzac's actions have produced a curious outcome. Cahuzac was expelled from the Socialist Party for being a liar and money launderer, arguably desirable leadership attributes unheralded but often tied to socialist funtionaries (i.e. people on top get theirs while the citizenry sinks toward police-state poverty).

Given his bona fides, it would seem that the Socialist Party should continue to embrace Cahuzac. But, he got caught lying and laundering money.

Speculatively, I suggest Cahuzac was maybe a little too effective at cracking down on tax evaders and a few prominent Socialist Party toes were stepped on.