With the worsening reality of European financial breakdown, increasing rounds of greater austerity measures have moved many citizens in various eurozone countries to appeal for an end to their “suffering” and a return to greater social support and protection. The first groups of such people came from the critically wounded states of Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The new waves of dissent, however, are being fed by a combination of the old and the young who in several states have gained traction in various elections and state proceedings. These concerns are becoming much more populous in nature, as benefits are being cut with twelve total European countries experiencing a recession.

France, the second most powerful economic player in the eurozone, has recently just experienced a political exchange between the rather conservative incumbent Sarkozy and the determined socialist, Francois Hollande. Hollande, the new president, is planning to reform the current European strategy of economic austerity measures by infusing strong socialist policies. Nearby in Greece, the coalition of various parties and leaders has been blocked by another socialist leader despite a new round of debt payments being due with no real way of addressing the worsening financial reality. With the change in leadership of France, Angela Merkel of Germany could very likely soon stand alone in the grim European economic theater.

How can we relate this to our own situation in the States? Let’s look at a few political patterns and policy implications, with the first being the phenomenon of wide-spread voter support for those politicians promising greater government spending. The unfortunate premise is that if a political platform involves budgetary restraint, then it is less likely to get as much support as one involving handouts, welfare expansion, monetary infusions and the like. This is dangerous, as a society needs to have goals and contingency plans in place in case serious socio-economic problems like those we are experiencing now, arise. Although France is in a much better position over Greece, a few months of irresponsible or inappropriate policies can uproot economic success and stability, bringing forth the destruction of stagnation and debt.

Like Obama, Hollande has proven to be the fresh face of politics, standing for progress and change. However, in the US, President Obama has had to scale back some of his plans due to the necessity of shedding extreme positions in favor of satisfying the most citizens and the most sound and supported policies. If, for example, Obama was to be more like Hollande―openly proposing things like a 75% tax rate for those earning more than a “million” or vowing to renegotiate a critical economic treaty despite the disastrous implications it could spell for your allies and supporters outside the country―then he likely wouldn’t see through to a second term, much like the energetic Sarkozy, who simply miss-stepped too much on the right side of the political playing field.

The truth is that many of the same questions facing European leaders are those that we face today. These include finding out how to stimulate the economy without deepening the deficit, how to borrow with cashless coffers, and how an overall reduction or stagnation in wages and job growth can be addressed without upsetting the fragile competitive economic environment among key developed nations. Those leaders who find the right answers will benefit themselves and party greatly throughout this decade and into the next. The uncertainty of politics, however, makes putting forward a sound plan a difficult and often traumatic experience that claims many political participants on all sides. For the wary United States, the French change in leadership points to a new wave of economic reforms in Europe, a possible redefinition in NATO command, and an updated example of how the fringe once again becomes the center. At best, Republicans will be more inclined to negotiate and agree with Democrats. At worst, Democrats will take things into their own hands and push Republicans further away from reality.