sailingaway
04-04-2013, 09:39 PM
Jérôme Cahuzac once compared having a Swiss bank account with taking a pregnancy test. “It’s either there or it’s not – there’s no inbetween,” he told a reporter from French daily Libération in February. “Do you think I’d still be in office if there was the slightest chance I had one?”
Two months later, Cahuzac’s carefully concealed “pregnancy”, or 600,000 euro offshore bank account, has come out screaming. Described by the French press as “one of the most spectacular scandals” the country has seen for decades, Cahuzac’s admission of guilt – after four months of public denial – has left the nation dumbfounded, and his Socialist Party colleagues devastated.
Cahuzac was deemed a tough-talking, earnest politician who prided himself on honesty. His staggering fall from grace has got everybody in France wondering, who is the Socialist minister who duped the nation?
Spinning hair into money
A discreet, respected figure among the Socialists, Cahuzac remained largely unknown to the general public until very recently, save for an incident in 2011 when he slapped an ill-spoken 20-year-old and told him to “show some respect”. It was only in 2012, during François Hollande’s presidential campaign, that Cahuzac became a household name. Invited to speak on a primetime political TV show, he failed to mask his alarm when questioned about Hollande’s controversial 75% millionaire tax. Since then, he has been best known, ironically, for his labours to crack down on tax evasion.
more: http://www.france24.com/en/20130404-cosmetic-surgeon-socialist-budget-minister-france-cahuzac
Two months later, Cahuzac’s carefully concealed “pregnancy”, or 600,000 euro offshore bank account, has come out screaming. Described by the French press as “one of the most spectacular scandals” the country has seen for decades, Cahuzac’s admission of guilt – after four months of public denial – has left the nation dumbfounded, and his Socialist Party colleagues devastated.
Cahuzac was deemed a tough-talking, earnest politician who prided himself on honesty. His staggering fall from grace has got everybody in France wondering, who is the Socialist minister who duped the nation?
Spinning hair into money
A discreet, respected figure among the Socialists, Cahuzac remained largely unknown to the general public until very recently, save for an incident in 2011 when he slapped an ill-spoken 20-year-old and told him to “show some respect”. It was only in 2012, during François Hollande’s presidential campaign, that Cahuzac became a household name. Invited to speak on a primetime political TV show, he failed to mask his alarm when questioned about Hollande’s controversial 75% millionaire tax. Since then, he has been best known, ironically, for his labours to crack down on tax evasion.
more: http://www.france24.com/en/20130404-cosmetic-surgeon-socialist-budget-minister-france-cahuzac