The French election that brought the first Socialist — Francois Hollande — to the presidency since Francois Mitterrand resigned in 1995 has the potential to significantly reshape the future of France — and the eurozone.
Many observers predict, however, that Hollande will be too hemmed in by eurozone debt and critical political relations with Germany to usher in large changes. Yet, if Greece drops out of the eurozone, as many believe is increasingly possible, then all bets are off. In that case, Hollande would gain a huge bargaining advantage over Germany in his efforts to tamp down austerity policies and introduce more growth-oriented policies within the currency union.
Wharton management professor Witold Henisz discusses these and related ideas with Knowledge at Wharton in this podcast:
To read more about the latest developments in Europe, see our special report: “Europe Struggles to Hold Itself Together.”
