| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Blow to Chirac as presidency poll favours Sarkozy |
| 2003-10-27 |
| Should Jocko start shredding records? The waning popularity of France’s president and prime minister was highlighted yesterday in a damaging opinion poll which revealed that the powerful interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, was rated more highly as a potential president-in-waiting than either of his masters. Mr Sarkozy was described as an "excellent" or "good" right-wing presidential candidate by 50% of those polled for a survey published in the weekly Le Point magazine. President Jacques Chirac was seen as a positive runner by only 40% and the prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, got the hypothetical support of just 24%. The poll comes as a further blow to the leaders of France’s government, who have seen their popularity drop to an all-time low in recent weeks. Jocko, what happened? Everybody loved you a year ago? Mr Sarkozy was rated as the man "most capable of changing things in France" by 42% of those polled; only 9% believed that Mr Chirac, who is beset by economic difficulties and mired in an unpopular social reform programme, was capable of implementing change. It happens so fast, doesn’t it Jocko? Hero to bum, just like that... The results come as welcome news for the most ambitious figure within the French government. Often referred to as "goldfinger" by the French media, because of his ability to make a success of every project he touches, Mr Sarkozy has been the government’s most prominent minister since his appointment 18 months ago. He has exploited a shrewd understanding of the media to help establish his omnipresence, appearing on news bulletins almost daily. Sounds almost like an American pol. Since taking up his position, he has resolved the long-running dispute over the Sangatte refugee camp, repatriated asylum seekers, launched a successful crackdown on crime, dramatically reduced road accident deaths, arrested the anti-GM campaigner José Bové and overseen the capture of France’s most wanted terrorist in the forests of Corsica. You mean he’s accomplished something? And he’s French?? His hardline legislation has come as part of a deliberate strategy to seize the initiative from the National Front after its electoral successes last year. Human rights activists were appalled by a draconian law that makes loitering in the hallways of blocks of flats an imprisonable offence, but Mr Sarkozy said it was a vital part of his campaign to reduce crime in France’s impoverished suburbs. Hmmmmmm. Wonder who that law might be aimed at? His legislation also made it an offence to show disrespect to "the dignity of the republic and its symbols" — making whistling during the Marseillaise a punishable act. Gendarme, whack his peepee! Until the debacle of the Corsican referendum this summer, when the government’s desire to grant a modicum of autonomy to the island was rejected, Mr Sarkozy could do no wrong, but even this failure was quickly forgotten. The poll results are destined to increase tensions within Mr Chirac’s administration and his UMP party. Ministers have already begun jostling behind the scenes in the race to replace Mr Raffarin. Looks like they’ve found the fall guy... But Mr Sarkozy’s hyperactivity and public successes have made him deeply unpopular within the ranks of the UMP, and his relations with Mr Chirac have been strained in the past by his relentless ambition. As opposed to Jock? Puh-leeze! When Mr Chirac was prime minister in 1976, he spotted Mr Sarkozy, an energetic student activist of just 20, and made him his protégé, grooming him for power, only to be betrayed when Mr Sarkozy backed a rival presidential candidate in 1995. It was nuthin’ personal, Mike. It was strictly business. Mr Sarkozy’s rumoured fling with the president’s daughter weakened their friendship further. Yesterday’s poll results may worsen this tense relationship, ultimately damaging the interior minister’s prospects. HER FATHER IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY!!! However, Mr Chirac’s government may draw some comfort from another survey published yesterday, which revealed that only 29% of the population had any confidence in the ability of the left wing to mount an effective opposition to the government. The left wing is more inept then what they got? That might be fun to watch. 20 hour work weeks, 6 months vacation? What else you got? |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #7 Could have fooled me,NMM |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-10-28 7:24:45 AM |
| #6 Does anyone here relaize that Chirac is right wing, speaks English and actually likes America? |
| Posted by: NotMikeMoore 2003-10-28 1:14:11 AM |
| #5 Sarkozy instituted the French Council of the Muslim Faith, hoping to give Islam an institutional voice in France. Sort of backfired when the regional councils turned out to be populated by extremists. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2003-10-27 3:05:41 PM |
| #4 Anybody have more background on the guy? He sounds like he would be an effective leader. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-27 11:35:56 AM |
| #3 "Until the debacle of the Corsican referendum this summer, ...Mr Sarkozy could do no wrong, but even this failure was quickly forgotten"...... At least that is, until this article was written to remind us about it. So I guess the point of the article is this: Oh sure, he may seem like a nice guy, but don't be decieved. Despite Mr Sarkozy's apparent success and popularity, we, the editors of this piece, would like you to be left with the impression that Mr Sarkozy is a hyperactive, relentlessly ambitious, back-stabbing, child molesting, kind of guy. |
| Posted by: B 2003-10-27 11:15:24 AM |
| #2 Too bad they did not give Mssr. Sarkozy a stab at the elder care problem during last summer's heat wave. A lot of them might have lived. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-10-27 10:56:08 AM |
| #1 What would make anyone think the elimination of Jock Sherock as a political force in France would be a good thing? The same monkeys that elected him would elect the next guy, right? This is the land of Robespierre, DeGaulle, and Pepe LePew, after all. |
| Posted by: John 2003-10-27 10:34:57 AM |