France hails Sarkozy, European saviour -- Germany doesn't

President Sarkozy is chairing his last summit as temporary boss of the European Union today. The story in France is Sarko's struggle to get a reluctant Germany to spend more on relaunching the EU economy and to overcome German and Polish resistance to an ambitious climate control pact.

Whatever the outcome in Brussels, Sarkozy is basking in French praise for his skillful handling of the country's storm-racked six months in the EU presidency.  Super Sarko has had such a 'good crisis' that he hopes to reign on as Europe's de facto leader after the lowly, and Eurosceptic, Czech Republic takes over on January 1.

France will have an advantage next year because because Germany will be focused on elections and Britain will be mired in a more painful recession than the countries of the eurozone, the Elysée Palace believes. The Elysée also thinks that Britain will soon abandon its qualms and join the euro to save itself from the collapse of the pound.

The hyper-active President is convinced that he has galvanised Europe and given it new power in the world with deft management of the financial crash and the other emergencies, such as the Russia-Georgia war in August. Close partnership with Britain's Gordon Brown is part of the new European power balance, says Sarkozy.

The President, who does not claim modesty among his qualities, is telling colleagues that he has restored a sense of political purpose to the moribund Union. He has also cut down to size the Brussels Commission -- the supranational executive bureaucracy. Power is back where it should be, in the hands of the elected governments who run the member states -- and especially the big ones, he says.

Sarkozy's team have been talking up their boss at the official end of his term as President of Europe, as he like to call it. "Europe will never be the same again," Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Sarkozy's Minister for Europe, told Libération. "There will be the before Sarkozy and the after Sarkozy." Jouyet, a respected Europe expert, has just resigned. He told me that he was exhausted with the never-ending crisis management that engulfed the French turn in the chair.

Sarkozy is proud of the way that, as he sees it, he made the running in the autumn scramble to stave off financial disaster. The G20 meeting in Washington, at which President Bush seemed to take a back seat, was a Sarkozy idea, at least in the French view.

The President believes that he put Europe back on the map at a time of American weakness. He also wants to be the European point man for President Obama. 

The satisfaction in Paris is not dimmed by the glaring failure of the French Euro-presidency: Sarkozy's cold war with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. The friction stems from style and substance. On the latter, frugal Germany resents the attempts by profligate France to get Berlin to bail out the eurozone economy.

The subdued Merkel is allergic to Sarkozy's bravura style, his mateyness and excitable nature and she resents the way that he has bullied her while claiming the glory over the past 18 months.

She calls him the Energizer Bunny (Lapin Duracell in French) and she has watched the films of Louis de Funès for clues to understanding the ever-agitated French president. (De Funès, a brilliant and much-loved comic actor, played the manic, excitable vain Frenchman in many hit films, including La Grande Vadrouille, the Gendarme of Saint Tropez series and Aile ou Cuisse [watch Grande Vadrouille scene)   

Spiegel magazine has just explained that the Chancellor sees Sarkozy as "an unfeasibly vain Jack-in-the-box...She has so far failed to find a way to handle him....She has watched de Funès' films... but she has nothing to counter him apart from her eternal impassiveness. Her fist may be clenched but she keeps it in her pocket."

The Elysée called in some French reporters on Tuesday to hear Jean-David Levitte, the veteran diplomat who supervises Sarkozy's foreign policy, list their triumphs in Europe. The President has swung the balance of power towards France, he said. The key was winning over second-rank members of the Eurozone, including the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Greece.

More neutral French observers are also giving Mr Sarkozy credit for a stint during which he staged a record number of summits. The excellent Dominique Moisi of the Institute for International Relations, wrote: "The crisis has been good for Mr Sarkozy... A view frequently heard is: 'I may not like him personally but I am glad he is there as my President."

Sarkozy had hoped to stay in the driving seat next year by inventing a new post of chairman of the single currency states and nominating himself for the job (The two EU presidencies next year are not part of the zone). Merkel vetoed the idea. But France retains the seat in another forum. It has another 18 months as co-chair of the EU-Mediterranean Union, one of the flashy schemes which Mr Sarkozy launched during his term.

His next plan, not yet announced, is a new "economic and security space" with Russia, Levitte disclosed. Given anger in the east towards Russia's occupation of northern Georgia, European leaders will be surprised to learn that Mr Sarkozy wants to offer Moscow a new security pact and that he wants to bring in Ukraine and Turkey. This would provide an alternative to the thorny matter of Nato membership for the pair, say the French.

Sarkozy believes that he has acquired influence to broker this new arrangement through ties which he has cultivated with President Medvedev since the August war. He was, however, stung when Medvedev delivered a public impersonation of his style, including his physical tics, at a news conference after the G20 in Washington last month.

Here's the video, if you haven't already seen it. The English translation is just legible.

Comments

[azloon]

re medeved NS spoof

the russians always have been crude and classless.

and from a political eunuch no less?

[Fernandez]

Only Europe? I heard yesterday that Gordon Brown saved the world.

[Daniel Strohl]

Hereafter a link as a complement to CHARLES's article :

http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2008/12/11/des-journalistes-europeens-placent-sarkozy-en-tete-du-classement-des-dirigeants-de-l-ue_1129573_3214.html#ens_id=1057332

[Blendi progri]

Medvedev a funny guy, eh?
What else is left for him to do, while Putin pulls his strings?

His improvisation impressed me, it goes to show that the guy has initiative and can do things without Putin's approval...or can he?
* wicked smile* zzzzzghghg
---
To me it doesn't seem like Sarko can bully Angela, he seems more apprehensive when she is near. A little fearful also,in turn she seems mildly irritated by him.

I am reading only the body language from a photo. Bring me more material if you want a full examination.
Fernandez, indeed he did. He slipped in british parliament, during PM's question time. The laughs nearly brought the old building down.

Today he came to LBC and said that no more children will be killed in streets of UK. Fixing the world, then uk, thats his order of priorities.
Gordon even laughed on radio, still half of UK population are astounded that Good ol Gord can laugh.
___________

Couldn't leave the blog without watching the photo one more time:

it seems now (with my head tilted to the right, and the chair pushed back 75 cm) is the photo of a middle aged couple, upset and irritated with each-other, life, everything.

Mum and dad, getting out of the school, a bit ruffled from a teacher-parent meeting. An upset teacher berating them about their unruly kid.

But the more closer you got you see that the couple has other troubles too.

Mom,- Angela- looks as if she is saying:

Why did I marry this loser?

Dad, - Sarko, looks like he is saying:
Pierre was right to leave Monique, look at him now, in the bar having fun every night, I'm still following this old bag. Note to self, divorce tomorrow.

Dad..continues to talk to himself...
How on earth I can share a car with her... nagging, nagging and more nagging...Let me button up my blue coat...

Loudly now:

Anggie dear, have forgoten the window at work open, gotta take the bus, see you at home and drive carefully! : )
(hope this time the brakes will fail for real and my alibi is that I have been seen in CB's blog)

SARKO & Angela wave at each other!

[Rolf-Peter]

The problem is,that Sarko only tries to be a French, but he won't never be one.I have many French acquaintances, they are honest and sober fellows.Sarko will never be one of them,that's why he exaggerates his "frenchness".In our time it's ridiculous that Sarko really wanted to swing the balance of power to France with the help of rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece.

[John]

Gone are the days of the 'plombier polonais' and of the 'pas très bien élevés' Eastern European countries. What a difference a year or two can make...

[alex]

I remember reading that the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership was launched in 1995. Wasn't that before Sarkozy's political emergence?

[That's right. And the Euro-Mediterranean Union was launched last July by Sarkozy at a summit in Paris. CB]

[Romain]

Fernandez,

This is the sequence where Gordon Brown is caught saving the world :

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/#28184480

By the way, I notice the British parliamentarians don't behave much better than ours. I am not sure this would be reassuring for us.

Brown's slip of the tongue was not really a mistake. It was actually what he believed. Like all international leaders he wants to be remembered as the figure whose brilliance saved the world from economic catastrophe. A big crisis can be a politician's great opportunity. Sarkozy never wastes a minute and seems always to dive in head first, but Merkel prefers a measured approach. In a couple of years we'll discover whose ideas were the soundest. At the moment I have no idea who is right or who is wrong.

[Daniel Strohl]

ROLF-PETER,

"I have many French acquaintances, they are honest and sober fellows.Sarko will never be one of them"

Do you imply that the 53 % of the French who have voted for Sarkozy are NOT honest and sober fellows ? :)

"with the help of rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece"

Our Greek, Spanish and Portuguese friends (along with the French, who are also indirectly aimed at by your peremptory judgment) will appreciate.

I think it would be wise to abstain from such "pauschal" judgments and to think over the French saying : "Chacun doit balayer devant sa porte" (everybody should clean the pavement in front of his own door). There is work to do in these matters in any country, Germany included :)

[Romain]

"the help of rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece." Rolf Peter.

This must be an example of honest and sober opinion.

[Rick]

Yes, ROMAIN, we call this 'Punch and Judy' politics, though it tends to be restricted to the weekly PM's Question Time. This was an innovation of the extemporiser supreme, a certain Mr T. Blair.

[PAUL 1st]

"The problem is,that Sarko only tries to be a French, but he won't never be one.I have many French acquaintances, they are honest and sober fellows.Sarko will never be one of them,"

What's this? A xenophobic outburst?

[Daisy]

"More neutral French observers are also giving Mr Sarkozy credit for a stint during which he staged a record number of summits"

The French are very good at summits, aren't they? I wonder how much all those summits cost.

[zarban]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-12-11/oh-to-be-french-and-smug/

[malik]

rolf-peter
sorry but I don't understand, NS is french.
And "frenchness" doesn't exist.

"with the help of rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece."
what are you trying to say ?

[NN]

Rolf-Peter, did you take reference from a supposed phrase of his father saying : "with your results at school and a name like yours you will never be successfull in France" ?
I didn't vote for him and till now he's scaring me sometimes from what i imagine of his political ideology. His manners are sometimes very shoking and ridiculous. But he's good reminder for French that they're for more than a third (of proportion) of mixed origins. And i like it, it's stimulating.

[John Gregory Flinn]

"...that he hopes to reign on as Europe's de facto leader..."

Strange as it may seem, and maybe despite the name-calling of Sarkozy, France is in pole position to achieve this role.

Germany's attachment to new coal electric power plants (even lignite I have heard?) is very unfashionable, and puts it at the same low 'green' status as bolshy Poland and others. (This may be a significant factor behind Sarkozy's cold war with Angela Merkel.)
Britain's (unacknowledged) dilemma over a plunging £, and stimulus packages derided by German experts make for unlikely leadership - although Gord thinks he already does!
And Italy - well they will follow France won't they?!

[dot king]

"with the help of rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece."
what are you trying to say ?

MALIK quoting Rolf-Peter

I think he's translated "pourri" as meaning "rotten" when a more appropriate word might be "corrupt".

Whatever, it's not a very helpful comment.

[Do-re-mi]

"Only the French Would Be Smug About the Recession"

I love Janine di Giovanni's books and read her column in The Evening Standard on Friday ( read it without buying the paper ) but her perspective is from le 16 and Bon Marche. Plenty of French I know can't and will not fill their trolley with champagne and foie gras at Christmas. They are not smug, they are poop scarred, worried, barely making ends meet with "les nouilles hors de prix". They moan yes, can't help that, in the UK they drink until they pass out. When people are buying bread makers, you know it's not because they are fed up with Poilane. Even l'agité permanent-Napoleon-light is going to have to be careful, the plush spreads with Carla on very magazine will soon get on people nerves.
Did Louis XVI like watches too, with a pretty wife who liked to play the actress and no money in the country's coffers?

[richard.jones]

I took this from Cardinal Strohl's post concerning the approbations offered to Nicky baby by 9 eurojournalists.

Ainsi, si Nicolas Sarkozy est très bien noté pour son leadership, sa réponse apportée à la crise géorgienne ou de la crise économique, il est largement dépassé par Jean-Claude Juncker en ce qui concerne l'engagement européen, l'esprit d'équipe ou la gestion du traité de Lisbonne. Le président français a certainement profité d'un calendrier favorable, lui qui a assuré au deuxième semestre la présidence de l'Union europénne.

I think in retrospect we will look at Sarkozy in the EU context as being a very good tactician for the EU and a reasonable strategist for the national interest of France. He is certainly not an EU strategist as he has adopted those old CDGian attitudes of not joining anything unless France runs it or we can't run it set up a parallel we can run.
Sarko was very, very brave to react to the current economic situation. He did not know what he was doing - nobody did - but he did scream 'problem' and 'problem needs fixing' when it was needed at risk of his own political (within the EU) suicide.
However, the current too loud France leading Europe ethos will kill Europe. It will increase the divide with many other nations at exactly the moment that some of these nations should become real, constructive (not destructive like UK until now) members of a collegiate Europe. The democratic deficit at the supranational level already makes these waters tricky and pronouncements pretending to some sort of Greek, Spanish and Portugal subservient support of France are dangerous. Greece and Spain (and Italy)have certainly fallen out with France in the last few months on issues like
return to first footfall immigration: Greece on the Carrefour and Champion food price issue (links with CAP here too)and Portugal about bullying the Commission (their chap Barroso).
If we look at the € presidency idea you will see enormous discontent in those countries with 'light' currencies - Italy, Portugal, Greece (who should have never been let in when they were), Spain and so on. They all rue the price inflation caused by the 'heavy €'. Eastern Europe - Poland and Czech and Slovak worries about Sarko and Russia - they want a more collegiate based relationship with Putin. Then Germany. The issue here is that Merkel is wary of Berlin being the open EU wallet (Seagoon, open your wallet and repeat after me 'Help yourself') as Bonn was until the mid-80's. France was for many years a net receiver of funds and many other members don't want to see that again especially as the money was used to catalyse more and more French dirigisme.
It will all be clearer in 2011 when this DEPRESSION is over and the social fabric has probably been irreparably ripped in the Balkans, in China and perhaps in parts of the old Eastern Europe.
What Sarkosy needs to do now and attain greatness is wrap his ideas carefully in nice EU collegiate paper, assign credit to those with other good ideas, use France's governance and other skills to consult in less favoured and more fractured nations and be in the forefront of negociations to involve the European people in their future and give them a sense of real European identity and to ensure a more economically balanced Europe (less statism but more consumer protection regulation - mortgages, deriviatives...), starting with the € in UK, DK, SW, CH and accepting the price for that (Mr. King follows Trichet at ECB)
In short, if he wants grandeur he needs to move quietly and carry a big European stick.

[richard.jones]

@Rolf-Peter,

'rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece.'

Beneath con tempt sir.

[Blendi Progri]

[In our time it's ridiculous that Sarko really wanted to swing the balance of power to France with the help of rotten countries like Spain,portugal or Greece.

Posted by: Rolf-Peter ]

R-P I have nothing with the contruction of the sentence, after all I am not a gramarian, in fact I mean a greengrocer. lol.

...but when a frenchman is blamed for something that a brit has tried to and done in the past, I only say That Aint Fair.

____

Sarko is only doing, or trying to do, what Tony Blair did (at times succesfully) with the help of Spain, Poland and few small Eeastern EU countries to countre-balance the franco-german axis on major EU decisions.

That frustrated few people, we all remember the-usually-unflapable and diplomatic Chirac exploding in few occassions out of frustrations with UK techniques. In summits, private residences and even in sleazy slovak bars.

Sarko is only immitating Tony B.
____

I seen the photo for the 3-rd time. Sorry, I know, I know it is not healthy, but it draws me, is like the realm of magical realism.
Today my only thought is:

If you look at that photo, and per chance you do not know who these two people are, and I tell you that they are the president and cancelar of FR & Germany, would you believe me?!

Would you hell.

You would say get outta here!

[malik]

I don't like the Janine di Giovanni's article. Who is this woman ?
She say :"There is nothing more annoying than watching the French win. In 1998, when they took the coveted World Cup in soccer against Brazil, the worst part of the victory was watching them gloat." !!!!!
Le plus beau moment de la france "black-blanc-beur" et elle trouve ça horrible !?!
I hope she is joking and people don't take her seriously.

Dot
merci :^)

[malik]

"He was, however, stung when Medvedev delivered a public impersonation of his style, including his physical tics, at a news conference after the G20 in Washington last month."

I think this is really funny.
L'imitation est pas mal.

[Romain]

Hey Dr.Jones !

Glad to read you again. We were kind of worried on your well being in that Greek turmoil. Times says Greek police is running out of tear gaz, it should cater for laughing gaz in the present depressed times.

[azloon]

[If you look at that photo, and per chance you do not know who these two people are..] Blendi

The ten things they (or others) might be saying or thinking about this hypothetical couple;

10. N: it really annoys me when she walks in front of me...

9. O: i wonder what they see in each other...

8. A: Well, that therapy session was a waste of 100 Euros...

7. O: Women are from mars, men are from venus.

6. N: well, if i can't be taller, maybe i should wear more shoulder padding ...

5. A: you know, it used to be fun being your wife..

4. A: if i catch you in that titty bar again, you'd better get out your checkbook...

3. A: i don't think i want you sleeping at the palace tonight.

2. A: just because i am from east germany doesn't mean i don't like jewelry.

and...(drum roll)...

1. N: she doesn't realize that my secretary always takes dictation sitting on my lap..

ok, it's not david letterman, but i tried.

[richard.jones]

@Romain,

I am not a doctor, I'm afraid never had the PhD time. Greek turmoil is 10km away but will be here soon.
A very cynical Greek friend of mine reckons that now they've run out of tear gas they'll have to fall back on Cyclon B.

[Romain]

Richard Jones,

It's only a remembrance of this Vietnamese little bay who was calling Indiana Jones Dr. Jones. Was he Welsh too ?

[Rick]

Herewith, fan-mail to CHARLES for his article in today's paper. Nick's not daft as a brush. The oddness of his behaviour – or at least some of it - is after all susceptible to rational analysis. Frau Merkel as photographic negative..., of course!

[Heinz Koenig]

John Gregory Flinn

I would like to remind you that the German industrial output is bigger than the one of France and the UK combined and so is the BIP.
It would make sense then, that no one of the historical leaders tries to grab the lead in Europe. The time of glory has passed by 1900 latest by 1918.
It would make sense to team up, accept the parvenu in the club and use the combined capabilities of three great nations to lead Europe in an accord with the smaller countries in Europe.
It does not make much sense to exclude the paymaster from meetings of the two would be "world leaders".

As a threesome is a terribly difficult approach to almost every task, I would suggest that we go back to the old franco/allemand alliance and drive, without the Europa sceptical Brits,the European ship to new territories.

A standing invitation to the Brits to join in, if they accept finally the rules of Europe, pay their adequate club fees and stop striving for exemptions for just about every rule in Europe. This however takes a decision on her part. Are we part of Europe or do we want to be the 51 state of the US.
Just a word on Mr. Steinbrück. Doesn't his attack on British policies sound much like the usual German bashing that is flying over the channel almost daily. If so, where has the British humour vanished to. It's all kidding, not serious, come on have you lost your humour?

[Rick]

HEINZ, why do Euro discussions centre on the big three, two of whom aren't one jot European-minded?

No prizes for guessing which!

[richard.jones]

@Herr Koenig,

As you've seen above I agree with your views on increased Euro collegiality. However, the Brits do pay their fees and are a large contributor - along with Germany - to the EU budget of which France was until very recently a net receiver.
I would also suggest you relook at the French - German 'drive' and see how much Germany got 'pushed' into doing things to the good of France but not necessarily to the benefit of Germany on the premiss that Germany (those dreadful wars, y'know) should keep quiet and not exert even the smallest drop of national interest or nationalism.
Angela happily has totally blunted that insidious French weapon and if the UK can get European (let Germany do the stroking not France) we have the prospects of a stable global power region called Europe.
The US thing needs to be resolved as well because even when we recover from the World Depression - circa 2011 - the USA will still be the major power and Europe will still need to 'get on with her' or be consistently held hostage to Russia and China. A smart Franco/German policy team would start by using UK as the conduit for keeping that USA relationship smooth and cordial in the mid-term.

[richard.jones]

@Romain,

I think Harrison 'Bailout' Ford is an American, although with the new moves to manufacture steam/nuclear hybrid cars in South Wales he may be asked by the US Congress to effect my nationality.
I will be waiting for him on (or maybe in) the dock at Cardiff with a copy of 'Pugh's Grammar' and 'A Contagion of Welsh Inflections'.
I would hope to be soon scripting a film for him, after my 3 month Creative Writing for the Constipated course with the OU. It will be either 'Indiana Jones and the Lost Cork' (in case he's really Irish), or 'Bailout these Pigs' Bladders!' (with Greek subtitles).

[malik]

sorry richard jones but I totally disagree with you.
you seem to think in white and black.

[dot king]

"Creative Writing for the Constipated course with the OU"

Professor R Jones

LOL pass the Senokot granules! ;)

[Heinz Koenig]

richard.jones
Yes of course we have used France as our front man. Yes we have paid more than we should have - and - we benefited from it. Economically and in the human department. Contrary to the British the French have really endeavored to establish friendly and stable conditions between the two countries. Our British friends indulge in preserving a memory of Germany between 1933 and 1945. Research shows that the British youngsters believe we are still running around in Pickelhauben and rattle with our tanks through the streets of Europe. In a research piece of the University of Edinburg 14 to 16 year olds claim Germany to be the poorest country in Eurpope and they would rather go to Sierra Leone than to Germany. Why do you think that is?
Do you remeber Mr. Riddley(the blue eyed boy of Mrs. Thatcher) and the faking of Mrs. Thatcher of the minutes of a meeting of historians at checkers? She claimed the united Germany is a vital threat to the peace in Europe and called the united Germany the Forth Reich. Mr. Kohl was asigned the title of the Hitler of the 2oth Century and Mr. Riddley publicly portrait Mr. Kohl with a Hitler mustache.
The campaign against the Euro read : Ein Reich. Ein Führer. Ein Euro.

When ever possible the British have "thrown sticks between our legs" and acted in the interest of the US in an attempt to prevent a united Europe.

You will remember that already Mr. Chuchill said : if ever put before the question to decide between the US and Europe,the choice inevitably would be the US (probably in better words).

The question clearly is how far do different nations want to go in European integration. All the way to a supra national Federal Republic of Europe? In 25 years - maybe? I am sure the UK will only follow if it stays an international free market club. Of course they are entitled to such a choice - but with consequences.
If you read German I suggest : "The Brits. Unsere Freunde in Europa?"(Our friends in Europe?)available at Amazon.

[Daniel Strohl]

HEINZ KOENIG,

Thanks to your post, I understand now the somewhat strange commentaries of a few British citizens which occurred occasionally on this blog :). I was not really aware of all this up to now.

"In 25 years - maybe?" Heinz, you are an optimist ! However, optimists are needed, especially right now :). I am usually also an optimist, but less so in European matters ...

"and they would rather go to Sierra Leone than to Germany"

What would have happened if one had asked them to locate Sierra Leone on a (blind) planisphere ? or even Germany BTW ? :)

PS : there are a few funny cartoons in The Times of today, notably of Mrs.Merkel and of Mr.Brown

CB :

the cartoons are most of the time very funny, but the characters used are sometimes too small i.e difficult to read on a PC display. Are the page lay-outs of the printed version of The Times and of the Internet version identical ? If yes, it is probably not easy or possible to increase the size of the cartoons in the Internet version.

[Stuart Avery]

Heinz,

Sir Winston was very wise, because he knew, like all Britons know deep down, that the Americans are much less likely to stab us in the back than our "friends" in Europe.

When the going gets tough, we can rely on America, the same cannot be said about France and Germany.

The Euro-dreamers hope to achieve through diplomacy and guile what Napoleon and Hitler couldn't by force; the subjugation of Britain.

We won't let that happen.

[Romain]

Harrison "Bailout Ford" Richard Jones

This is a kill, my spectacles fell off my nose onto my keyboard. LOL

[Rick]

Herr König, you wrote the following to Richard Jones: ‘If you read German I suggest : "The Brits. Unsere Freunde in Europa?"(Our friends in Europe?)available at Amazon’.

An entirely forgivable modesty seems to have prevented you naming the author of the said tome... a certain Heinz H. König, no less. Any relation?

[Rick]

On 19 September 1946, at the University of Zürich, Winston Churchill gave a speech in favour of European unity. He advocated ‘Franco-German’ rapprochement and ‘a kind of United States of Europe’... sans Brits, of course.

[Helen]

De Funes and Sarko do have a lot in common!
Knowing German people, I'm not surprised Mrs Merkel is antagonised by Sarko's style.
I wonder how he comes across in a country like Italy or Rumania?

[Bernd Plagge]

We Germans, we love the French! We appreciate and valuate that French/German relationship turned into friendship after having been poisoned at least since WW1.
Still, although both countries are getting closer as far as their economical situation is concerned cultural differences persist. This needs to be understood and accepted. Generally speaking the French are more patriotic and put more emphasis on promoting France - even if there product is in reality of European origin (the Airbus is a European product but in France generally regarded as French). Germany tends to hesitate before joining the crowds.
Nicolas Sarkozy who has a pan-European background is a successful politican. He has achieved this in spite of a difficult familiar background and his feeling inferior for being not very tall (165 cm). This makes his urge to push forward and to always be the leader more understandable.
In the current economic situation where nobody really knows what will be happening governments certainly have to support the economy and Germany won't make an exception. However, it also does not make sense to join a "who offers more competition". Merkel knows this and she clearly said that the German government will act depending on how the situation evolves.
Any European measures of substantial size and commitment will require the German consent. And honestly, I don't think that Sarkozy can impress Merkel with brilliant speeches alone. At the end of the day a European economic package requires the consent of more or less all members. The result will be a product of negotiation and not of Sarkozy's speeches or political willpower.
In a few months his EU presidency will be over and Sarkozy would be well advised to address the many problems of his country (immigration, education, job fear etc.). And Germany has more or less the same problems.
In general new European leaders will be sooner or later be faced with European political reality, Sarkozy won't make an exception.

[Bernd Plagge]

We Germans, we love the French! We appreciate and valuate that French/German relationship turned into friendship after having been poisoned at least since WW1.
Still, although both countries are getting closer as far as their economical situation is concerned cultural differences persist. This needs to be understood and accepted. Generally speaking the French are more patriotic and put more emphasis on promoting France - even if there product is in reality of European origin (the Airbus is a European product but in France generally regarded as French). Germany tends to hesitate before joining the crowds.
Nicolas Sarkozy who has a pan-European background is a successful politican. He has achieved this in spite of a difficult familiar background and his feeling inferior for being not very tall (165 cm). This makes his urge to push forward and to always be the leader more understandable.
In the current economic situation where nobody really knows what will be happening governments certainly have to support the economy and Germany won't make an exception. However, it also does not make sense to join a "who offers more competition". Merkel knows this and she clearly said that the German government will act depending on how the situation evolves.
Any European measures of substantial size and commitment will require the German consent. And honestly, I don't think that Sarkozy can impress Merkel with brilliant speeches alone. At the end of the day a European economic package requires the consent of more or less all members. The result will be a product of negotiation and not of Sarkozy's speeches or political willpower.
In a few months his EU presidency will be over and Sarkozy would be well advised to address the many problems of his country (immigration, education, job fear etc.). And Germany has more or less the same problems.
In general new European leaders will be sooner or later be faced by European political reality, Sarkozy won't make an exception.

[Rick]

Dear HERR KÖNIG, please don’t confuse a kind of ‘Lumpenproletariatsgedächtnis’ (a gutter-press-folk-memory) with a national attitude. On the contrary, my suspicion is that, given a bald and unadorned choice between friendship with Germany or France, most English people would plump for Germany. National resentments last a long time, of course. But some of them are post-1945; or even pre-1815.

The refrain: ‘Love France; can’t stand the French!’ is an almost automatic response to any casual mention of the place. For decades yours truly has taken the side of France, whatever some of your contributors may opine.

A number of tough old strands are intertwined. And this old chestnut is unlikely to be punted into touch within my lifetime - incidentally, an true Englishman would no more mix metaphors than drink port as an apéritif,

Here’s an illustration. Reading the counterpart weblog to CHARLES’ for ‘Libération’ (their London correspondent) amounts to suddenly being confronted with a mysteriously different being. Dr Johnson said, ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life’. Not so for the (apparently young and talented) contributors to that weblog: so many of their missives concern the impossibility of finding a half-way decent place to eat...

Avec quelle complaisance, le cliché vient-il à ma rencontre!

And yes, entre nous, those young French people seem infinitely preferable to young Brits with their talentless ‘X –Factor’ and ‘going on the p*ss’!! But then WE have the ‘Grumpy Old (Wo)Man’ phenomenon, don’t we?

I bet you have ‘Grumpy Old Men’ too, HERR KÖNIG. But do the French have them? That's the question.

[Do-re-mi]

Malik

http://www.janinedigiovanni.com/

She is married to a French man.

[Just for info, Janine is an American and a colleague and former foreign correspondent for The Times who is based in Paris. CB]

[malik]

do-re-mi
merci! je vois elle vit en France en plus.

"Love France; can’t stand the French!"

this is stupid.

[richard.jones]

@Helen,

Initially there was very high respect for Sarkosy in the Balkans and especially in the (thanks to Diocletian) latin-languaged Rumania.
They felt Sarkosy was a welcome relief (I suppose we all did) from the usual French didactic and polemic.
In the last months - since the Georgia incident - that view, from people I talk with in Rumania, Serbia, Albamia, Bulgaria, Makedonia and of course, Greece has ecome less complimentary. He is now seen in the Balkans as over-reactive, rather unplanned and non-strategic and lacking in gravitas.
From the Balkan POV Nick was eaten alive by the Russians in regard of Ossetia and Abkhazia and is viewed as the major problem point (which is a partial truth) in these countries, (especially the 3 EUers) to do with illegal immigrants from the Horn of Africa and the Iranian hinterland being sent back to economies that can not support their numbers on the basis of first footfall and registration.

[Lily]

"Dear HERR KÖNIG, please don’t confuse a kind of ‘Lumpenproletariatsgedächtnis’ (a gutter-press-folk-memory) with a national attitude."

LOL!

Rick,

Are you accusing Mr Roger Boyle from the Times, Berlin of "gutter-press-folk-memory"?

I assume that he is expected to represent the national attitude better than anyone else, doesn't he?

Have you already ordered Mr König's book? You could arrange for the English translation! ;)