| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Chirac’s Rule, a New Rule, Is Applied to a Rival |
| 2004-07-01 |
| Nicolas Sarkozy very much wants to be the president of France. Too much, it seems, for President Jacques Chirac. From inside Élysée Palace, Mr. Sarkozy, the 49-year-old minister of finance, is viewed as nakedly ambitious and politically tone-deaf, a man who has broken the unspoken code that bans the flaunting of ambition, especially if it involves the replacement of the boss. The issue is particularly raw because Mr. Sarkozy is also the most popular politician on the right, more popular than the man he serves. And Mr. Chirac has not decided whether to seek a third presidential term three years from now, when he will be 74. (or go to jail) So in a dramatic, if crude, move to neutralize his most dangerous political rival, Mr. Chirac told Mr. Sarkozy in a meeting a week ago that he could achieve his goal of becoming the head of the governing Union for a Popular Movement this fall, a post that brings with it huge sums of money, personal prestige and the force of the party machine. The only thing Mr. Sarkozy has to do is quit his day job and leave the government, in effect invoking a new rule ... Chirac in a bind? Great |
| Posted by:Capt America |