Word of the day - Champagne socialist

This came to mind looking at this week's New Statesman which has this headline on the last page: "On his deathbed Keynes revealed his only regret: 'that I did not drink more champagne'"


Musing on this I realised that the translation into French of champagne socialist is "la gauche caviar". "La gauche" - the left - is always a more powerful cry in French politics than the word socialist. Given the current débâcle in the French Parti socialiste this is perhaps not surprising. I spent parts of my student years trying to draw charts of the splits, unions and amalgamations that made up the parti socialiste, it's not easy to understand!
Anyway today is the day that the party votes between three candidates to see who will succeed François Hollande as first secretary.
No doubt the successful candidate - given the state of the party I hardly dare call them lucky - will toast victory with a glass of the bubbly stuff.