Sarkozy vu par la presse de Newport Beach

Sarkozy’s image takes a beating
February 15th, 2008
From Alan Bock
Remember when most Americans, and the Bush administration in particular, was overjoyed that the new president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, turned out to be an admirer of the United States and determined to find ways to get a little of that good old American work ethic infused into French culture? Well, he may still feel that way, but his actions since being elected haven’t exactly made it easier to get what he wants. In fact, many French people view him as something of a clown.
The reasons aren’t hard to understand. He’s palled around with tycoons on their yachts and at their country estates. He’s divorced his wife and married an Italian supermodel and singer he had known for 80 days. As this WaPo story puts it, “Sarkozy invited comparison to Tom Cruise — intense, headstrong, athletic, dynamic, charismatic. The president has not started jumping up and down on a couch, but there is a sense among many people here that he could at any moment.”
Maybe if Oprah invited him.
The trouble with acting like a rock star, possibly because power and prominence have gone to his head, is that it leaves little time for the serious business of trying to get reforms done in France’s rigid labor laws, for example. On that front Sarkozy has accomplished next to nothing, and if his clown image prevails he may never be able to do anything serious.


Que dire de plus.........