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| WHAT IS GOING WRONG WITH THE SARKOZY PRESIDENCY? By AXEL KRAUSE January 22, 2008 Nearly nine months ago, France’s flashy, reform-bent, pro-Bush conservative, Nicolas Sarkozy, was swept into the Elysée Palace as president by an overwhelming majority. He enthusiastically pledged to break with the nation’s past and implement sweeping reforms at home, while restoring the nation’s power and image abroad, and believing he would replace Britain as America’s strongest Western ally. Today, despite overwhelming executive, legislative and judicial powers, reinforced by an accommodating French media, and a weak, deeply-divided leftist opposition, the support for what many term the “Sarko show” is disintegrating. Increasingly, polls and interviews at all levels of French society show the French growing sour, disappointed and increasingly critical of everything from Sarkozy’s retreat from electoral promises to his constant flaunting a dazzling, jet-set style of living. That includes his relationship with attractive, Italian, model-turned singer Carla Brundi, with whom he has been carrying on a heavily-publicized love affair and who, she says, will soon become his third wife; Sarkozy and his second wife, Cécelia, divorced several months ago, as the Brundi-Sarkozy couple blow hot and cold on the subject of their relationship. “When I have something to say, I’ll say it,” the president snapped to journalists covering his trip to the Middle East last week. “Stop then from being interested in my private life.” Hypocrisy, countered critics, noting the Elysée Palace and the president himself are constantly encouraging coverage of his personal life, which has continued amid preparations for a state visit to India at the end of this week, possibly with Brundi on his arm. Not so, she told the leftist daily Libération in an interview published Tuesday, confirming they were not yet married, a major sticking point with French and Indian diplomats planning the visit. A wedding, she disclosed, is “in our plans.” Not exactly helping matters were citations from a book his former wife Cécelia has recently published describing him as a “womanizer,” who “loves no one, not even his children.” She, in turn returned to a lover, a businessman, with whom she had a highly-publicized affair earlier. Not surprisingly, recent national surveys showed his popularity declining for the first time since he was elected, dropping below 50%, which may not look bad in Washington, London, nor Tel Aviv,. But it has proven a major blow to his image, reflected in a nationwide survey that appeared Sunday, January 21 in the respected Journal du Dimanche showing that only 47% of those surveyed expressed satisfaction with the Sarkozy presidency, with 52% now unhappy, including many of his conservative supporters. The fact that the popularity of his hand-picked, deliberately low-key, cool prime minister, Francois Fillon, has, in the same survey, shot up in the polls – around 50%- reflects what many French voters increasingly say - they much prefer Fillon’s more classical, straight-laced, upper middle class image and lifestyle to Sarkozys’ now being described by many observers as “vulgar.” In France, such an epithet can be politically dangerous, particularly when outspoken, younger-generation opposition leaders, like Socialist deputy Arnaud Montebourg, note that France is being “ridiculed” in the foreign media over not only his personal style and habits but his over-indulgent praising of authoritarian leaders in the Middle East and Africa and US President George Bush. And at the same time, failing to heed the warnings of German Chancellor Angela Merkel who, among others, increasingly, openly take issue with Sarkozy’s constant references to France’s leadership role and mission, ignoring the European Union and its key members. The image, popularity and lifestyle issues would not matter so much were it not for the growing sentiment, expressed widely, that somehow Sarkozy is not in touch, nor able to cope, with the number-one concern of most French voters – the weakening economy. For example, at his first, major press conference in Paris January 8, Sarkozy was asked if the controversial, 35-hour work week program launched by the previous Socialist government to create jobs, which it did, would be killed this year. “To tell things as I see them, yes,” he said. Within hours, a storm of criticism erupted from not only the opposition, but members of his own party and influential trade unions , with the result that the president backed off, claiming that, of course, he wanted to move on “reforming” the program, not killing it. Yet he provided few details in what was widely described as another exercise in political acrobats that has embroiled all conservative governments hopeful of reducing the workweek from 39 to 35 hours at no loss in pay. Then, at the weekend, Sarkozy, to the dismay of some of his economic advisers, claimed that France would not be adversely affected by the slowing US economy faced with the prospect of a recession, and was somehow better positioned than most EU economies. While he may have been referring to French banks, his finance minister, the outspoken, US-educated and trained lawyer, Christine Lagarde, announced that France’s GNP growth was slipping to around 2% this year, from some 2.5% predicted earlier, amid worsening inflation, continued, high levels of unemployment, and falling stock prices. French banks and the economic fundamentals of the country are “solid” she insisted in a radio interview Tuesday as she prepared to attend the World Economic Forum being held January 23-27 in Davos, Switzerland. There she and Fillon, will press their optimistic message, amid widespread, growing doubts in France and elsewhere that the EU can remain immune from a US-led economic slowdown, given long-standing, vital trans-Atlantic economic, financial and trade relationships. Sarkozy’s presidency is running into other obstacles. For example, at this press conference, he announced a move the International Herald Tribune the next day wrote could reshape the media landscape in France, proposing that commercials on public television be banned, while “making up for some of the lost revenue with a first-of-its-kind tax on the Internet and mobile phones.” An outcry of questioning and opposition was touched off throughout Europe, notably by EU Commissioner for telecommunications, Viviane Reding, who distanced herself from the proposal urging at a conference in Munich Monday that the Sarkozy plan might not be the best way to expand access to the new, emerging media being actively encouraged by the Commission. Meantime, opposition and scepticism has emerged throughout EU countries regarding other Sarkozy initiatives. For example, he has been perceived as actively lobbying for a likely candidacy for the presidency of the European Union, a new, permanent post provided for in the revised EU treaty to be ratified later this year. The candidate is Britain’s former left-centrist prime minister, Tony Blair, who was, surprisingly, invited to address his conservative party congress in Paris earlier this month. Why? No one can say for sure, given Britain’s steadfast opposition to the euro and other EU programs, Blair’s total support for the Iraq War, and even though he delivered his speech in fluent French. Indeed, his successor, Gordon Brown and other EU leaders may not support the Blair candidacy which requires unanimous agreement in the 27-nation bloc, amid strong support for another leading, respected figure, but whose country was a founding member of the EU – Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. The next big electoral test for Sarkozy at home will be municipal-regional elections March 9-16. While he is not a candidate, he has pledged to actively campaign for his party’s candidates and notably, for his hand-picked successor as mayor of the posh Paris suburb Neuilly: David Martinon, his gregarious, likeable spokesman at the Elysée Palace and who faces strong opposition, both within his party, centrists and Socialists. Axel Krause, contributing editor of Transatlantic Magazine in Paris, reports he is particularly troubled by the complacent, financially-vulnerable French media, which with a few notable exceptions supports Sarkozy. Reporters are often warned about critical articles, which now even extends to foreign media. The German ambassador in Paris was recently treated to a firm critique by Sarkozy about the hostility of the German media regarding his presidency. And your correspondent was asked by a leading French television network, right after Sarkozy’s press conference, what he thought. He responded there were positive and negative aspects, but, alas, only the former remained by the time the interview was aired on that evening’s news program. | |||||||||||||||
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