Mandate won, Sarkozy set to reform

French voters gave his conservative party a majority in parliamentary elections Sunday, though it was narrower than expected.

from the June 19, 2007 edition

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Sarkozy's leadership in Europe

Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, is also cutting a prominent figure for himself in European affairs.

He is lobbying for outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair to take the European Union (EU) presidency position. He has entered the discussion on the future of Kosovo independence, suggesting a compromise between the indefinite time frame advocated by Vladimir Putin, and the immediate independence sought by many EU countries.

As the first baby-boomer president of France, he brought a youthful vigor to the recent G-8 summit in Germany, a contrast with his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who retired after more than 40 years in May.

In fact, Sarkozy's unfettered juggernaut and confidence in recent weeks may partly explain the unexpected vote Sunday. Only a week before, all but one of Sarkozy's 110 UMP deputies had won seats in first round voting. Yet in an unguarded moment, a French minister last week stated the ruling government would shortly raise the value-added tax (VAT), widely seen to help France's small wealth class and add taxes for the majority.

"The VAT was a gift to the Socialists that allowed the French to pause," says Pierre Haski, cofounder of the news website Rue 89, launched in May. "The overwhelming majority, the appearance of a clan taking over the [Elysée] Palace, which controls all media, the parliament, the Supreme Court – and then a parliamentary election that was nearly unanimous, may have scared people. One side getting everything may not be healthy, is how French may be thinking."

The banner headline in Le Figaro in Paris after Sunday's vote was, " 'Yes, but,' say the French." Probably the severest blow to Sarkozy's plans came with the seat lost by former foreign minister Alain Juppé, whom Sarkozy had tapped as environment minister, and whose seniority made him No. 2 behind Prime Minister Fillon.

Socialist Party leader François Hollande described Sunday's vote as a "counterweight for democracy." He was also, however, put in the position of answering questions about the announcement Monday by Ms. Royal, his longtime companion and mother of his four children, that the two were splitting up.

 

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