CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY his “ ecologists,” the ticket which in the last election got the support of those who were weary of the pap handed out by the four major parties. [The Big Four are: the Gaullists, headed by Jacques Chirac, Mayor of Paris; the Republicans, under President Valery Giscard d’Estaing; the Socialists of Francois Mitterand; and the Communists led by Georges Mar- chais. All are well integrated into the French political system.] But Coluche has also, according to the polls, picked up 2 percentage points from Mitterand, 1 from President Giscard and / i point from Marchais. So those who in the beginning were laughing at Coluche’s candidacy are now gritting their teeth. The Big Four are starting to realize that they are facing an adversary whom they can’t hit back at with their traditional methods. Outside of the political game, Coluche does not readily offer himself to techniques of political criticism. The major candidates are also afraid that if they try to attack him, they’ll simply give his candidacy more importance, and that they might well put themselves into the role of the white-faced, sad clowns of the traditional circus, the ones who feed the gag lines to the funny one; and who among the major candidates wants to be the one to put into the limelight the crazy clown at the risk of becoming a sour-pussed pagliaccio himself? Coluche, therefore, is giving the big boys fits. He is scaring them to such an unfunny degree that a vigilante-type group called “ Honor of the Police” did not hesitate to murder Rene Gorlin, Coluche’s campaign director. Gorlin’s body was found in an empty lot with two bullets in his neck. Coluche himself receives daily deaththreats from the same group. He also gets abundant correspondence indignantly condemning his language and his ideas. Moreover, two of the state- owned radio stations in the Paris area have closed their broadcasts to him, and television (also state controlled) has refused to show his face since Christmas. HIS electoral campaign from the beginning has been supported by two satiric journals of the ultraleft: Charlie Hebdo and Hara-Kiri. Liberation, a more serious far-left newspaper, had also permitted the daily publication of Coluche’s “ Days.” At the end of last November, they censured him for going beyond the limits of vulgarity and machismo, but they have continued to give him coverage. Coluche, clearly, is not exactly a gentle soul. Intellectuals, even on the left, have criticized his lack of tact— for they, too, have gotten their share of brick-bats from him. But Coluche has chosen his street language in order to reach the man in the street; should he be reproached for that? It’s his very lack of finesse that permits him to get his point across. One of the criticisms leveled at him is that his whole campaign is just a publicity stunt. (He is, after all, a professional comedian.) It’s true that his public appearances have been raking in the money, and there are long lines for his movies. Other candidates who have trouble funding two to three free public appearances a day are exasperated by Coluche who charges admission to his! Another criticism is that he has at times gotten caught up in the political game he has denounced. He’s been a little preachy in several articles and has spoken as solid citizen, not as clown, on France’s foreign policy. But should he be blamed for that? At all events, whether he is attacked for being a clown or for being serious, it’s clear that people criticize only that which merits attention. CAN Coluche radically alter the political reality in France? Could he actually become president? No. Coluche neither seeks nor wants power. For, as he notes regretfully, wholesalers of local and organically grown produce hours: Mon.-Fri. 6am-2pm 1030 S.E. 10th Avenue Portland, OR 97214 Phone 234-2118 520 E. Burnside 232-2659 Open at Noon 7 days a week Claudia Bors G GM Wine Cellar “Your German Delicatessen Store” • Authentic Homemade German Sausage, bread and pastries • Imported cheeses. beer & wine • German cosmetics, records & tapes • Freezer meat, custom sausage making • Sandwiches, beer on tap • Catering 238-4411 3119S.E. 12th (corner of S.E. Powell and 12th) Mike & Regine Wegele - owners MEXICAN RESTAURANT Now serving fine imported and domestic beers Try our famous chili relleno or chicken enchiladas Open Monday-Thursday llam-9pm Friday and Saturday 1lam-11pm Sunday 4:30pm-9pm 125 W. BURNSIDE 224-3486 Fine Desserts 807 NW 21st Portland, Oregon 295-2779 Tuesday-Saturday 10-6 Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-6:00 20
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz