Infidelity is not a dirty word…

Nicolas Sarkozy,52 and bikini clad wife Carla Bruni,40 at Luxor beach

I’ve read and heard that when it comes to infidelity, the French are uniquely tolerant of extramarital affairs. This is by no means a myth. According to the French papers, the morning after Francois Mitterand’s funeral; France’s longest serving leader of 14 years after Napolean III, a photo appeared in the papers of his mistress and illegitimate daughter alongside his family by his grave.

According to some sources, French presidents seem to hv a record approaching 100% when it comes to infidelity.

What does this say to you? Somehow this doesn’t affect their popularity ratings. In fact it probably even helped. I’m talking about the current President of France Nicolas Sarkozy who divorced his wife of 11 years and tied the knot with former super model turned singer song writer Carla Bruni in February 2008.

The French were shocked at first and Sarkozy’s popularity plummeted shortly after. However, within months, the couple’s popularity soared and in some ways, Carla Bruni is now even more popular than when she was a model strutting down the catwalk. Some have even likened her to the iconic Jackie O. What’s even more interesting is that she recently realeased her pop album sometime last week of this month. A First Lady releasing a pop album?

That’s not going to happen in Malaysia simply because no would pay Rm30 (let alone RM5) to hear Jeanne Abdullah croak. Plus she doesn’t need the money because we all know how filthy rich her husband is. Going back to the issue of infidelity being an accepted norm in France, their national statistics (2004) state otherwise for the ordinary Frenchmen. So it seems the issue of infidelity rests solely on those in power. Power. Now that’s a word.

These days, as long as you have power you can get away with any old damn thing. We don’t need to look far to see that happening. It’s happening right under our nose. It seems you can corrupt, steal, lie, commit murder / adultery and get away with it. As long as you have power. Now which is a dirtier word? Infidelity or Power?