Perceptions!

The ups and downs of campaign trails go on. In France, Marine Le Pen, addressing supporters on May Day, pinched bits of a speech by one of her rivals, François Fillon but her aides said it was not plagiarism but praise. Imitation, or copying, is the sincerest form of flattery. Her rival for next Sunday's second round elections, Macron, still seems to lead in polls; I remain fearful and sceptical. Pundits say he would be good for France and Europe but bad for Britain and Brexit. Are any of them really likely to make Brexit easy for us though?

Over here, we have Diane Abbott giving a disastrous interview and, quite separately, Tony Blair threatening to go out on the campaign trail. What chance does Labour really have? On the other hand, we have also seen film of Theresa May trying to do some knocking on doors and getting no response. And there was an occasion recently when she apparently talked about fighting against tourism when she really meant terrorism. It's hard when your tongue betrays you. So much for strong and stable! 

Over the water Donald Trump "has expressed confusion as to why the American civil war took place and claimed that President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the war started, “was really angry” about the conflict". Lots of us have big gaps in our knowledge of our country's history. The trick is not to make big public statements that display that knowledge!

Here's another transatlantic story:

"An Australian man has been handcuffed and locked up in a US detention centre after apparently breaching his visa conditions by just over one hour.

Sydney man Baxter Reid, 26, was in the US on a five-year visa and had travelled to Canada as part of a requirement for him to exit and re-enter America every six months to keep his visa valid.

But his American girlfriend Heather Kansco said Reid was arrested by US Border Patrol officers on 23 April after delays receiving clearance to cross into Canada meant he breached his visa conditions by just over an hour."

That sound a little bit like some dirty dealing to me. However, the young man's father, Tom Reid, said his son seemed “in good spirits”. He went on, “He’s a kid with a sense of adventure, travelling overseas and living life so he doesn’t deserve this.”

I find it interesting that the Australian father describes his 26 year-old as a kid. In Mexico he would be well past childhood. In some states there they ignore the law that says 18 should be the minimum age for marriage for both men and women. The defiant states maintain that 14 is fine for girls and 16 for boys. As regards informal unions, even younger girls are escaping from a possibly abusive home and poverty, dropping out of school and into a relationship, usually with an older man. "Of the 320,000-plus Mexican girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who are cohabiting, nearly 70% are with a partner who is at least 11 years their senior, according to a report commissioned by the Ford Foundation."

It's amazing how perceptions differ from one place to another!