Humala: "Don't taze me dude!"The reaction of opposition parties to the appointment of Yehude Simon has been funny. The Fujimoristas have tried to dig up Simon's past by accusing him of having a terrorist background....err that's because he was in opposition to the Fujimori quasi-dictatorship in the 1990s and El Chino decided to trump up charges and throw Simon in jail rather than listen to him any longer....Fujimori was like that. Meanwhile the reaction of Ollanta Humala (the main opposition leader in the highly fractured world of Peruvian party politics) to the appointment of Yehude Simon as new cabinet chief was telling. Humala has had his legs swept from under him by this Twobreakfasts move, and he knows it. There's nothing bad he could say about Simon without it reflecting on his own background, so he was reduced to snarking that it was obviously due to some kind of political pact between APRA and the Humanist Party (that of Simon).
Well DUH, eejit! What else would you call it if the President calls someone from a different party to their own to become the 2nd most powerful politico in the country? Fact is that Humala knows he's just lost a lot of the left-leaning protest vote to Simon in 2011, and now Yehude (why do I always see violins with that name?) must be a serious contender for the toppy top job next time around. I'm very glad that Humala's nose is out of joint on this appointment, as the guy is a total dickhead. Imagine an insincere Hugo Chávez without the charisma or crowd-pleasing charm and a dose of xenophobia on top and you're kinda half way there. I call him "the wrong man at the right time." I hope that Simon steals his thunder once and for all.
Back to Yehude, and if you were wondering why you haven't heard of him before, don't fret. Rank and file had never registered his name in Lima, either. Here's a September 21/22 2008 poll conducted in Lima that asked for names of politicos the people liked or approved of:
Well DUH, eejit! What else would you call it if the President calls someone from a different party to their own to become the 2nd most powerful politico in the country? Fact is that Humala knows he's just lost a lot of the left-leaning protest vote to Simon in 2011, and now Yehude (why do I always see violins with that name?) must be a serious contender for the toppy top job next time around. I'm very glad that Humala's nose is out of joint on this appointment, as the guy is a total dickhead. Imagine an insincere Hugo Chávez without the charisma or crowd-pleasing charm and a dose of xenophobia on top and you're kinda half way there. I call him "the wrong man at the right time." I hope that Simon steals his thunder once and for all.
Back to Yehude, and if you were wondering why you haven't heard of him before, don't fret. Rank and file had never registered his name in Lima, either. Here's a September 21/22 2008 poll conducted in Lima that asked for names of politicos the people liked or approved of:
Luis Castañeda 80.5% approval (Mayor of Lima; always says he doesn't want the top job)
Keiko Fujimori 12.9% (El Chino's daughter, and just as shifty)
Lourdes Flores 10.9% (right wing leader, fading star)
Alejandro Toledo 9.9% (ex Prez, enjoying a swan song)
Ollanta Humala 8% (more popular in the provinces, esp in South Peru.... still a dickhead)
Alberto Andrade 6.8% (stuffed suit)
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski 3.3% (smart economist, ex-PM)
Jorge del Castillo 3% (bye bye Mini-Me, you won't be missed)
Susana Villarán 2.6% (you go girl...Otto hopes she gets a job under Simon)
Mario Huamán 0.1% (Union leader, troublemaker)
You'll note that Yehude Simon doesn't even make a 0.1% showing on that list which is less than a month old. That's the way the Limeños are; if it doesn't happen in the capital city they are totally ignorant of it. However, now that Simon has big job in big city he'll get big boost to his ratings going into the 2011 election race, take that to the bank. I'd go as far as to say that President Twobreakfasts has just made the best decision of his Presidency so far, but now it's up to Simon to run with the ball he's been tossed. If he makes a good job of it, consider him President-in-Waiting.