Posted on 05/07/2007 11:55:10 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
He is combative and outspoken. She is conciliatory and deferential.
But few leaders in Europe have as much in common where it really counts as Nicolas Sarkozy, the winner of Sunday's French presidential election, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Born within six months of each other, Sarkozy and Merkel are outsiders who overcame strong opposition from within their own parties to reach the pinnacle of European politics -- she as a pastor's daughter from communist East Germany and he as the son of a Hungarian immigrant who fled communism.
The two conservatives are united in their support for closer ties with Washington and in their opposition to Turkey's bid to join the EU -- clear departures from the stances of their predecessors Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder.
Both are advocates of reforming the European welfare state, although Merkel has been limited by her "grand coalition" in Berlin and Sarkozy has raised questions with his protectionist support of French national champions.
Together, they are ideally positioned to restart the Franco-German motor that has driven the European Union forward for the past five decades but stalled when French voters rejected a draft constitution for the bloc two years ago.
"He wants to get European integration on track again and does not define Europe as a counterweight to the United States," Andreas Schockenhoff, a leading conservative in parliament told German television. "These are the very principles on which our foreign policy is based."
FRANCO-GERMAN MOTOR
Sarkozy has vowed to visit Merkel on his first foreign trip as president and, in his victory speech on Sunday, signalled that she can count on his cooperation as she strives to deliver a G8 deal on climate change and an EU agreement on reviving the rejected treaty at separate summits in June.
In the speech, the 52-year-old Frenchman, said his country was "back in Europe" and urged the United States, whose reluctance to commit to measures to combat global warming risks dooming Merkel's G8 plans, to take a leadership role on climate change.
Language like this has comforted the German government in its hopes that Sarkozy will be more pragmatic as president than he was during his campaign and stints in Chirac's government.
At a March campaign rally in the southern city of Nice, Sarkozy raised eyebrows by taking a swipe at Germany as he defended his own country's past.
"(France) has not carried out a genocide. It did not invent the final solution," he said.
As finance minister under Chirac, he helped prevent German conglomerate Siemens from purchasing assets from ailing French rival Alstom, then rankled Berlin in 2004 by pushing through French drug maker Sanofi's purchase of part-German peer Aventis.
But German officials praise Sarkozy for taking a more measured stance when a crisis flared at Franco-German plane maker Airbus earlier this year and note that he has dropped calls for an overhaul of the European Central Bank's statutes.
"I think we will see a much more pragmatic Sarkozy on European issues than we have in past years," said a senior member of Merkel's cabinet, requesting anonymity.
Merkle is a scientist. Wonder what she says about Globull warming.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.