Sarko measures up to Bush

  This picture has caused a lot of French fuming. In it, we see Nicolas Sarkozy with George W in the White House. The Interior Minister who is leading the centre-right into next spring's presidential elections, was given the honour of a brief US presidential drop-by last week when he visited Stephen Hadley, the National Security adviser.  Bush popped into Hadley's office to shake the Sarko hand and chat for a few minutes as a gesture of gratitude for the Frenchman's friendliness towards the USA (see September 11 post). 

Sarkozy, whose team negotiated the session and persuaded the White House to release a photograph, was thrilled to be seen as a statesman hobnobbing with the chief. This time next year, he hopes to be doing it again as President of France. But for many in France, including President Chirac, Sarko was guilty of grovelling before the adversary, if not the devil, and the picture compounded the offence.

Chirac, who had his own session with Bush at the United Nations this week, was enraged by what he called Sarkozy's lamentable sell-out of his country during his US visit. Sarkozy had broken with the tenets of Gaullism, the doctrine of the UMP party which he leads, by cosying up to the Americans and even going as far as criticising "French arrogance" in a Washington speech. On Monday, Chirac attacked his minister on the radio for "subservience" to the Americans. Privately, he was harsher:  "With Tony Blair, we have already had one European leader serving the interests of the Americans in Europe," said Chirac. "We don't need a second one with Sarkozy." The quotes were reported today by Le Canard Enchaîné.

Sarkozy's leftwing opponents have used the picture as a weapon to bash the rightwing champion.  Ségolène Royal, the Socialist favourite, said there was a difference between alliance with the Americans and alignment with Bush. "My diplomatic position will not consist of going and kneeling down in front of George Bush," said France's would-be first woman president. Laurent Fabius, one of her rivals for the party nomination, called Sarkozy "Bush's new poodle".

Sarkozy is betting, however, that anti-Americanism is no longer such a winning ticket as the left and right establishment and media believe. His criticism of Chirac -- made in a Washington speech -- for picking a fight with Bush over the Iraq invasion has raised a few murmurs of agreement. Le Monde, voice of the leftish establishment, and a Radio France commentator, wondered whether France might be reaching the end of a 45-year cycle in which it has defined itself through its opposition to the United States. 

Pierre Lellouche, the parliamentarian who is Sarkozy's chief foreign policy adviser, explained Sarkozy's belief in the need for change. "Sarkozy is saying 'I am a friend of the United States' and he is breaking with political correctness. That's refreshing and if it shocks the apostles of the dominant anti-American orthodoxy, then so much the better. The voters will decide."

Lellouche was one of the few French politicians to support the US invasion of Iraq. If Sarkozy wins, he might land the job of French Foreign Minister next spring.

Back to the picture: Chirac, we are told, picked up on another aspect of Sarkozy's stature as a statesman. He wondered why the two men appear the same height when the six-foot Bush would be expected to tower over the five feet five-inch Sarkozy, whose nickname is le Petit Nicolas. Sarko is very conscious of his stature, the actual measure of which is a virtual state secret. France prefers its presidents tall, like de Gaulle, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Chirac, who measures six feet three inches.

Like Napoleon, Sarko makes up in energy what he lacks in height. And anyway, Royal, his likely opponent in the run-off for the presidency, is no taller than he is.

Comments

[Hugues]

Well, poodles are small, aren’t they?

However, I tend to agree with Sarko’s feelings on French anti-Americanism (even though this is about the only thing I agree with him on). Modern anti-Americanism as part of our national psyche is a construction of the left, part of the ready-to-think kit you get from school onwards. I should know: I’m a member of the Socialist Party myself.

In truth, people tend to like Americans and things American. They don’t like Bush very much, of course, but who does?

[Frank Schnittger]

There may well be a need for France to move beyond some of the more irrational elements in its anti-Americanism, but I wonder whether Sarkozy is doing the right thing at the right time. For one thing, he is still a member of Chirac’s Government, and might be expected to show more loyalty, or else resign. He isn’t even Minister for Foreign Affairs, so is meddling in somebody else’s patch.

Criticising his President in a speech in Washington would be regarded as treasonable in some cultures, but even in France is hardly likely to win you the Patriotic vote. The last thing the French people need right now is to have their noses rubbed in it. Most countries like to run their own affairs without too much foreign interference. Better to be ruled by your own incompetents rather than by foreign incompetents might be the refrain.

Bush has not so much interfered in French affairs – he has been begged to give his blessing to a particular candidate, and therein lies the humiliation. Maybe American dollars will now flow into the Sarkozy campaign finances, but do the French really want to be ruled by America? It is not, of course, equivalent to French Fascists welcoming the Nazis in to run their country, but it still carries some uneasy echoes of the past.

All Sego has to do now is wrap herself in the French Flag and look serene and confident and independent – the epitome of the pride the French people take in themselves and their country. Sarko, by contrast, will appear as a bystander waving a small Stars and Stripes at a Bush Republican rally.

And for what? Bush will be gone in couple of years. There will be plenty of opportunities for the next French President to make a fresh start in relationships with America. The important thing is to begin that process from a position of strength rather than supplication; to define the relationship at least partly on your own terms.

Blair has already been humiliated in Britain for being too servile in his relationship to Bush – and Blair is one of the most gifted politicians and Prime Ministers Britain has had. How could Sarkozy have repeated that mistake? And why choose Iraq of all issues to break with Chirac. Arguably it is the one issue Chirac got right – and the one issue that has been Bush’s downfall in the U.S.

The next US President, whether Democrat or Republican, is hardly likely to be running on the Bush policy in Iraq as his most popular electoral issue. Even hard-line Republicans are running scared and putting as much distance between themselves and President Bush on Iraq.

Why on earth did Sarkozy wade in with is too big feet? It is hardly likely to win him any kudos with the Democrats, and he will more than likely be treated as a typically duplicitous and devious French politician even if a Republican does win the next Presidential election.

Far from increasing his stature as a statesman, the photograph will end up portraying Sarkozy as a would be Marshal Pétain toadying up to his master. The French won’t want to go there again.

[Flocon]

Hello Franck Schnittger.
I have no idea how much you know about French politics but I wholeheartydly agree with your comment on Sarko's visit to Bush. Most French wonder why he thought it necessary to come and beg for a handshake and photo op. with Bush. Is that supposed to bring him votes in next year presidential election? Certainly not, he will lose more than he will get.
As you write, after the catastrophic impact such intimacy with Bush brought to Blair, one can only wonder why Sarko thought it wise to follow the same disastrous PR path.
Maybe is your suggestion regarding the financing of his campaign to come the key to understand his move???
The French like America and Americans by and large but as every citizen in the world certainly dislike politicians who go overboard to show how ready they are to submit to the will of some foreign masters.
(My English is simply awfull tonight... Sorry...)

[Flocon]

A good idea this code numbers to enter before posting a comment but they're sometimes so confusing I'm afraid I may have mistaken some letters...
Don't know if my former comment went through???

[dada]

revenons au fond;

the politics of sarkozy in the ministry of interieur has been a disaster.

his fearmongering tactics to rally the far right vote has been a non sense not only socially , but economically.

A "small" exemple. The 23 000 persons who have registered to become humans(legal papers) are beeing forced to stay in their conditions of clandestinity,so no registration in any field, so bosses making them work for nothing( even less for the socials cotisations they would have paid ).
and in the same time he alienates many more french citizens, young ones ,who really don't need it.
Yes, to hunt an african-type clandestine is a good media trick to reassure the fachos that they are not alone in their fears , and to confirm people in their self inflicted insecurity is a must for a politician seeking the presidential fauteuil from the right side.

you gonna think, self inflicted insecurity!, this guy is crazy, he hasn't seen the lastest news, these 2 COPS savagely ambushed in one of theses lawless suburbs.

In fact you can see more cops in neuilly,the city of sarko, that in saint denis, and don't tell me he has some radicals reforms in his head, that's been 5 years that he's at his poste.
by the way, there is a law in france requiring that 20% of the residency in a town must be social, go see for yourself the statistics for neuilly(sarko is the maire of this city since before the TGV)

Maybe it is not a foreign policy rapprochement that constitute sarko closesness with the conservative republicans, but more of a vision of the society , where the richs stay among themselves in nice gated cities with impeccable pelouses and one or two clandestine domestic to keep track with the larger society(and because it is less expensive too, just keep it real)

[Edward Johns]

Hallo Frank,
I feel you may be overstating with these two comments :-
"do the French really want to be ruled by America? It is not, of course, equivalent to French Fascists welcoming the Nazis in to run their country"
"the photograph will end up portraying Sarkozy as a would be Marshal Pétain toadying up to his master."
As with the Pope, you may be being 'quoted out of context' but comparisons of this offensive nature are surely over the top?

[Frank Schnittger]

You may very well be right Edward, that I engaged in a little rhetorical exageration - I thought it was an argument worth making and am interested to see how many indignant responses I get. It is worth noting however, in a historical context, that the U.S. recognised the Vichy regime as the legitimate Government of France right up to D Day.

[GAG]

Edward. Can the truth be offensive?

Even when used as a comparison?
GAG

[John Hornsby]

Miss Ségolène is quite right not to consider kneeling before Bush. We don't want a Monica-Clinton remake.

[christopher muir]

You have to wonder what they talked about and in what language. I recently watched Bush on video saying that he had read a French novel and "three Shakespeares" while on (yet another) vacation. I'm sure Bush can't speak French; perhaps Sarkozy somehow managed to explain the finer points of Camus' "L'etranger" to this highly inquisitive US president. The philosophy of Absurdism would have been a timely subject for weighty discussion between these two gentlemen. Perhaps Sarko's Hungarian background might have prompted him to promise his new friend a gift of Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon."

[Valentin]

What's the point, exaggerating Sarkozy's photo with Bush ? They're all trying to show they're recognized internationally. Sarkozy hit it best, with a world leader far more important and harder to meet than say Prodi of Italy. He met the US President, rather than the person George W. Bush.

Second, personally I'm a bit fed up with the fat, noisy, sneaker-wearing, gum-chewing, burger-fan American cliché, and I do think it needs a bit of working against - it became a little too fashioned to express anti-american. What Sarkozy basically said, was that while opposing to the war in Iraq, there was no point of doing it so noisily and manifestly - it was quite unfriendly an attitude, and it was perceived as such by many on the other side. It's honest to admit that, rather than making a hero out of de Villepin and his famous UN speech. This is what started all those Freedom-Fries type reactions.

In a word, I don't quite see where Sarkozy stepped on some rule - he merely pointed to a possible change of political expression : stopping a certain hostility towards the US. Being a party leader and possible candidate, he must do that.

I see even less where he's been submissive to the US (or representing their interests), for that matter. It's a bit like that Clearstream story, rather over-the-board interpretations and speculations.

[Edward Johns]

Hallo GAG.
The truth according to......?

[Edward Johns]

Good evening GAG.
The truth according to....?

[Edward Johns]

Hallo GAG,
sorry, but the truth according to.....?

[GAG]

Hello Edward,
The two historical events which Frank referred to as a comparison are actually true. According to every book I have read and my many studies on the subject.
GAG

[john gregory Flinn]

Bush is not 6 foot. His father maybe.
G.W. is about the same height as Blair and he is less than UK average!

"... and Blair is one of the most gifted politicians and Prime Ministers Britain has had."
Really Frank, is this Irish blarney?
Almost everything Blair has done has unravelled - on second thoughts delete 'almost'!
Privatising the Bank of England was a brilliant stroke but that was Brown.
A gifted salesman maybe, except that all of his wares have turned to dust.

[Edward Johns]

Hallo Charles,
in case you are wondering why I in effect asked the same question three times, it is because I no longer receive codes to input--is this normal ?
Regards ted Johns.
ps Thanks GAG

[john gregory Flinn]

The TGV is indeed a beautiful emblem for 'La Belle France'. It's obviously going to expand further into Europe as air-travel becomes more expensive, slower (at check-ins) and a target for the Greens.
'La Hexagone' is the optimum size for a competitive and successful railway system. Railway economics depends upon medium-sized distances, busy population centres, non-stop travel and efficient traction. On these criteria England is too small, and the connection into Scotland mostly too sparse. Large countries like USA and Russia are 'too big' and generally uncompetitive with air-travel.
Japan's Shin Kansen railway fits the same criteria as France, and is also a successful system. It has notably cut air traffic between Osaka and Tokyo; which journey by Shin-kansen gives one a enigmatic view of mount Fuji. They have also inaugurated a Mag-Lev system which runs on a magnetic 'cushion', and is designed to go even faster.
However Japan's system does not have the same scope for expansion that France does in Europe.
Both countries benefit from nuclear- generated electricity with a stable price-regime for the railways.

[robert dingley]

I'm with Edward against Frank on this one. In fact, I noticed the internal inconsistency between the same two sentences in Frank's first post, re-quoted by Edward in his first post in reply. I especially love the insertion of that "of course" in that first sentence of Frank's mentioned by Edward . . .

To summarize the discussion so far:

The French fascists welcomed their German overlords, the sizeable French Communist Party would have welcomed their Soviet overlords had Russian tanks ever made it to Paris anytime in the preceeding 50 years (and we won't mention which country helped prevent *that* eventuality), and now, at least according to Frank, "Sarko" risks appearing as a modern-day Petain because he just had an audience with POTUS . . . .

For those of us capable of nuanced hermeneutics, and focusing therefore on the subtext of Frank's entries, ought we not to ask: what is it with all this insinuation of French accommodationism? Is Frank subtly making the recently oft-heard case about the French being "surrender monkeys"? Is it his suggestion that it is congenital to the people, historically constant, and crosses all party lines?

Intriguing.

[Bill McLane]

What a lot to make of a photo with Bush! I would bet that about ten zillion people have shared the honor. And of Sarkozy with Bush in a photo we make a Bush lapdog of Sarkozy and the opponent translates it as kneeling before him (visions of Monica). What in the world have you people been drinking?

[Frank Schnittger]

Welcome back, Robert Dingley, my old adversary! It is indeed a strangely nuanced hermeneutic which summarises a previous discussion by introducing elements which nobody else has even mentioned so far - viz. the welcome which French Communists might have afforded to Soviet Tanks rolling into Paris. And all this to bolster an accusation that my intent is to insinuate that the French are some kind of "surrender monkeys".

I think most ordinary readers, though perhaps not capable of quite your level of nuanced hermeneutics, will have recognised my purpose as being precisely the opposite. What I have been saying is that the French are a proud and capable and relatively successful people. They have no need to go running cap in hand to the current American President to beg his endorsement of their political program. Indeed, even many of those who do approve of Sarkozy’s politics, will have been embarrassed that he has demeaned his President and his country in front of a foreign audience as a means of bolstering his own leadership ambitions.

Whatever else you may think of Chirac and his policies, he is still the President of France (and Sarkozy’s ultimate boss). Showing such disloyalty and denigrating your own country abroad is not usually a successful political strategy it any country, and I doubt that the French are any different in this regard.

I suspect that most French people recognise that France needs to change, that irrational anti-Americanism will not get them anywhere, and that part of that change may well include the adoption of more Anglo-American style free market economic policies and a less dirigiste State approach. What they don’t need is to be humiliated by their leaders abroad.

That is about the only parallel I was trying to draw between Sarkozy’s behaviour and the German (and American) sponsorship/recognition of the Vichy regime. I fully accept that his policies are entirely incomparable to the Vichy regime. They may even be quite right for France to adopt now. The problem is that Sarkozy will have embarrassed many who might otherwise have supported him because the French – no more or less than any other Sovereign people – want to feel that they are in charge of their own destiny.

Because few voters get to know a candidate or his real thinking intimately, they are reliant on symbols and images to get a sense of what a candidate is all about. Regrettably this means that politics is often more about perception rather than reality. If I were Sarkozy’s political adviser, I would advise him not to appear as if he is making common cause with people who have recently been France’s adversaries abroad. He needs the Patriotic vote – and much of Chirac’s support base – if he is to have any chance of being elected.

As things now stand Sego must be the favourite to succeed Chirac, despite the fact that she has done almost nothing to deserve such support and inspire such hopes. Sarko is making it easy for her. It was bad politics on his part. He needs more French votes, not American Freedom Fries, if he wants to get elected.

[John Hornsby]

I have been focussing on my nuanced hermeneutics here for the last 30 seconds and still haven't puzzled out what Mr Dingley is talking about.Probably because my subnumbril prolapses have been perturbed by Jean Froggie sounding off outside the French windows (the shooting season is under way...).

[Mark a Yank]

The first rule of presidential politics is to remember which country you are trying to become president of. Kerry forgot this and ran for President of France, and would have easily won if the French could have voted for him. Sarko had better start insulting Bush and Americans in general if he wants to win.