Nicolas Sarkozy - The right-wing sun of French politics

Simon Heffer has called Nicolas Sarkozy, France's interior minister, the "most exciting leader" in Europe.   The Economist sees him as the anti-establishment candidate - championing "ordinary folk—but policemen, firemen and supermarket shoppers, not the farmers of yesterday's France".  BBC Online notes how he "seduces" the media: "Every French news bulletin features the man who made his mark as an authoritarian interior minister - tough on crime, and tough on immigration."

The latest profile of M Sarkozy comes in The Weekly Standard by regular FT columnist, Christopher Caldwell.  Near the beginning of his piece Mr Caldwell captures the political dominance of France's interior minister and would-be President:

"It is not certain that "Sarko," as he is called in the press, will win, but it is certain he will set the tone. To adapt a metaphor of the political scientist Samuel Lubell, he is the "sun" of the French political scene, generating all the light and ideas. The other candidates are like "moons," merely reflecting the light he gives off--agreeing with Sarko on this, disagreeing with him on that, and sort of agreeing with him on the other thing."

M Sarkozy is very unusual - for a French politician - in describing himself as "a man of the right".  'What do you mean by that?', Caldwell asks Sarkozy:

"First, the primacy of work...

Second, the need to compensate personal merit and effort...

Third, respect for the rules, and for authority...

Fourth, the belief that democracy does not mean weakness;

Fifth, values;

Sixth, . . . I'm persuaded that, before sharing, you have to create wealth. I don't like egalitarianism."

And what does all this mean in practice?  Caldwell:

"He intends to shrink the state, reform the profligate, bureaucratic, and job-killing "French social model," cut taxes, promote ethnic harmony (through the controversial expedient of affirmative action), normalize Islam in French society, and shore up France's alliance with the United States. These plans amount to what supporters and detractors call la rupture. As Sarkozy told a roomful of journalists at UMP headquarters in January: "You can't run France on the ideas of 30 years ago.""

The man escapes easy categorisation.  A poll showed him outperforming Le Pen amongst traditional Le Pen supporters.  He uses strong, colourful language when describing the law-breaking residents of the banlieues (the estates where last year's riots took off) but Sarkozy has visited them much more than any of his political contemporaries.  He is passionately pro-Israel and much less hostile to the war in Iraq than President Chirac.  He has also worked tirelessly for France's five million Muslims.   Bringing Islam into the mainstream of French society is a big deal for him:

"Most people in France pay lip service to this idea, but Sarkozy acts on it. A great deal of the work Sarkozy has done with the two-year-old French Council of the Muslim Faith involves getting non-pork dishes into school cafeterias and arranging for Muslim burials to be allowed in municipal cemeteries."

As the right reinvents itself in various parts of the world, the progress of Nicolas Sarkozy will be as fascinating as it is likely to be eventful.

Comments

[Matthew Oxley]

Wow, this bloke seems amazing, good luck to him.

[libertorian]

Sounds good, but the question is, is France ready for him?

[EU Serf]

As a close follower of European politics, I have long admired Sarkozy. He has stayed true to the reasons he went into politics in the first place.

Most politicians either start out with, or end up with a belief that they are superior to everyone else and therefore only they can decide what the little people should do with their lives.

Sarko is totally different. He takes risks and he advertises what he believes in. Even better what he believes in is conservatism.

I hope he is successful.

[Ted]

If he did win the Presidency it would be intereresting to see him take on the Social Model - I was in a conference a couple of years ago of senior businessmen with an eminent Banker explaining real world economics. Mix of European & Asian delegates almost all concurring with his speech except for the French - all against his treatise, all for the French model (government direction, social goals etc.). Probably all had been to same school of business.

The French elite in parliament, media and business are unlikely to give Sarkozy much of a free range. In addition as the German election showed the voters find it difficult to accept its time for radical change (la rupture). It would be good to have an Atlantasist in power but I doubt he'll be able to move the direction of French politics as much as he would wish.

[jphewitt]

At last a top French politician who might stand up to the farmers

[malcolm]

No he supports the CAP and is a Federalist.How he squares this with his other beliefs is difficult to fathom.He seems a typical French hypocrite to me.

[Tim]

I'm sceptical about Sarkozy. His populism on law and order/immigration can easily translate into typical French economic protectionism.

[Rob Largan]

He sounds like the best French President we are ever likely to get, by no means perfect, but we should hope that he is successful.

[Alex Crowley]

A Sarkozy led France gives a glimmer of hope to the failing European project, given that France will always be in the driving seat. A Sarkozy/Merkel/Cameron axis is exciting indeed......

[malcolm]

That is you want the 'European project' to succeed.I believe that sooner or later it will fall apart as at least in Britain it has no democratic legitimacy.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

I quite like Nicolas Sarkozy. It's just a pity he's an unashamed Eurofederalist who is trying to stop the Conservative withdrawal from the EPP. Oh, and he's French!

[Paul]

Although British commentators like to portray Sarkozy as a radical alternative, he is actually a pretty mainstream French UMP politician.

He supports the CAP, is against free trade, wants to bring back the EU Constitution and is only in favour of a slight tinkering with the social model.

The people who are saying that he is a reformer are just as wrong as those who predicted that the Blair, Berlusconi, Aznar axis would reform Europe

[Michael Turvey]

He is also in favour of positive discrimintaion.

[DeeBee]

Is this guy swearing allegiance to Israel like Strauss Kahn ???Does he have a bank account in Israel ? Personnally I don't trust this kike!

[Anti-Cameron Tory]

One good thing about Sarkozy...

He met Cameron, talked about EPP, and told 'Dave' he was a coward.

Right in one.

So what about the EPP Dave...?

[Zioncrusher]

Clearly a zionist trying to play the currents.if french let him proceed he will turn france into just another israeli vassel like the u.s and brittain.

[HILLBLOGGER3]

Re your "The man escapes easy categorisation."

Nicolas Sarkozy embodies the values of the traditional French right; the right to live in a society that espouses merit over welfare state, the latter being the favorite modus vivendi of the French left, i.e, levelling down.

Obviously, because Mr Sarkozy says loud what so majority of the French think and believe, i.e., immigrants who refuse to integrate must leave, he is branded a neo-conservative but he is not - he is not Le Pen whose dogma is patterned after the erstwhile Fuhrer of the Third Reich.

I maintain that Nicolas Sarkozy is the president that France needs to effect modern changes in an aging France. He's the only one who's proven several times in the past that he can walk the talk, not Royal, not Bayrou, and definitely not Le Pen.

The forthcoming runoff is crucial Nicolas Sarkozy must win over Ms Royal lest France be burdened by a bunch of incompetent socialists at the helm.

[lionel dupont]

Would it be possible to use your picture of Sarkozy for a Burson-Marsteller newsletter? Is the picture protected by any copywrights?

Thanks a lot.

[Cheap Jordans]

Your other self is always sorry for you. But your other self grows on sorrow; so all is well!