Long dreadlocked hair and a brand new on-line album that all reggae sound lovers can download. Baba Chihabi is a 32-year old presidential aspirant at the 2012 French presidential elections.
In Baba’s world tantrism would be a state religion, meditation taught in schools and people would work less to live better.
“I don’t believe that French are ready for my ideas. I don’t believe the world is ready for my ideas right now, maybe in 30 or 50 years they will be.”
In his presidential proposals, there is no place for budget restrictions, financial transactions or credit rating agencies, hot issues of every presidential race in this time of global economic crisis.Ever since Baba first decided to become a presidential candidate – back in 2003, after discussing French politics with his fellow students – his proposals are based on resource sharing (“I believe in resource sharing, so that everyone have food, house, garden, not depending on pharmaceutical or food industries”), and meditation that should be « taught in schools, prisons and hospitals ».
The beliefs of the Rasta president have roots in Baha’i Faith as well as the tantrism that he considers the origin of all religions. « I am against the secularism; I might be the only candidate in France who thinks that way. I think that everyone has to be allowed to express his faith. However, the tantrism is the origin of religions. » The tantrism as a state religion is listed as the first among his 69 presidential proposals, first but not the last one underpinning the sensual dimension of Rasta’s presidential project. He would also legalize the polygamy and polyandry, establish the National Agency of Eroticism and reform the society to become the society of pleasure and leisure. “One of my slogans is 100% unemployment. I want to free people from industrial enslavement and give them pleasure in their life. That’s why I support Cindy Lee, the member of the Pleasure Party who wants to bring pleasure to people’s lives. “
When he wants to share his ideas, Baba doesn’t only rely on his blog or You Tube channel. For him, campaigning means singing. When he comes to the French capital to sing in the metro, nobody is indifferent. “Some people are interested, they ask me questions about my campaign and they congratulate me, others hate it, they insult me or, in the worst case, they want to fight me.” Other presidential candidates ignore Baba’s existence. Even though on his YouTube channel, he launched an open invitation to all the presidential candidates to do a video with him, nobody ever got back to him. “Even the craziest candidates didn’t accept my invitation. Even if they are sure they will lose, they are afraid to appear in my video.”
Mayors too seem to be afraid, or maybe just not in interested in his proposals. Until now, rasta president didn’t’ get any of 500 mayor endorsements needed to become the official presidential candidate. Mothers seem to like him more: when he realized that no mayor would accord him his endorsement, Baba invited the mothers (in French mayor, « maire », and mother « mère » are pronounced in the same way) to sign a petition to support him. So far 27 mothers signed the on line petition.
And he is ready to wait for the world to be ready for him. “My plan is to record more CDs, do more videos and go to India where I will learn more about meditation and yoga. In 2017, I intend to run for president again.”
Considering the stress that presidential campaign, as well as the five year mandate can provoke, maybe some other candidats should consider joining him.
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