Friday 7 December 2012

So how's that Socialism working out for you, France?

And to France, where the Socialists are behaving just the way Red Ed would like them too. Raising taxes and attacking even capitalists.

There are though some side effects. One being that people who own your industry don't take kindly to being abused and then tend to think of ways to retaliate. Lakshmi Mittal is one. Now Mittal was born into a dir poor family in Indian and now is one of the world's wealthiest men. Perhaps the biggest move of social circumstances by anyone in history? Now I very much doubt he did this without happening to be immensely clever. So attacking him would always ahve consequences.

The French have been very upset he may close a steel mill at Florange for sometime and there has been much hand-wringing about this - and much criticism of Mittal. So what is his response, firstly to close another plant elsewhere but also to pull out of a key piece of research into new technology that would enable Florange to stay open.

It's a high stakes game when Government take on multi-national billionaires I feel - and not something that should be done lightly. After all Mittal has to date saved the french steel industry (well, its remnants) and kept lots of jobs in France and made money. What are the French to do, nationalise it? It's a very slippery road and we will be well advised to point our politicians to look at France since the Hollande victory and its very rapid fall into difficulties due to some rather pointed ideological campaigns that are making international investors run for the hill

8 comments:

BlackRaven said...

the interesting and frightening question is how the electorate reacts, will they accept that "more socialism" is not the answer, or will they simply think that even higher taxes and more confiscation is the answer?

Blue Eyes said...

Contrast Blair's treatment of Mittal which was to embrace him and make sure he picked the UK to be his European base. Blair got it in that respect.

I expect the oppressed capitalists of France will do what they traditionally do: hop over the Channel.

They are all welcome. We'll need their skills to keep Britain from being sucked into the Euro quagmire.

DJK said...

Picking fights with Mittal wasn't clever. But then again, I'm not sure I want a world where prosperity goes to whichever country bows and grovels most to a small elite of mega-billionaires.

Ball(s) Bearings said...

Just out of curiosity, any connection twixt Mittal and our tax evading Maggie?

Demetrius said...

Is it possible that in the short term future, Europe, which began as a Coal and Steel Area will have neither a coal nor steel industries?

CityUnslicker said...

DJK - its not really about bowing to them, they are quite content to build businesses - after all Mittal saved the French industry in the first place.

It's just the consistency. Only the left portray everything as if it is a left a conspiracy against the people all the time.

Sometimes, its just business.

Electro-Kevin said...

Clearly the French have got this wrong.

andrew said...

As long as on balance they don't import anything they will be fine.
... unfortunately this does not look to be the case