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Thanks for the ping. The sad thing is that Burke wouldn't really see Sarkozy's election as a reaffirmation of the Ancien Régime - that died a nasty death a very, very long time ago. What Sarkozy does bring to the table Burke would approve of very much - a contempt for mob rule and a disdain for fashionable political enthusiasme. The latter was once the death of France and in its current form of treacly multiculturalism threatens to be the death of Europe. Time for somebody to rein it in, IMHO.

That said, he hasn't actually done anything yet and promises to be stoutly defied by a hyperemotional and destructive Left with all the political sophistication of an infant whose diapers are in permanent need of a change. Royal showed its true face with her blatant threat of violence should her party be rejected, as it was. And it turns out that a society consisting of well-defined groups with no loyalties but plenty of vested interests is a society under a constant threat of paralysis. The underlying message is "let us rule or we'll tear the country apart." The Democrats are testing this ploy themselves but do not yet dare to use it to the degree the Socialists have in France. I wish Mr. Sarkozy the very best of luck, because he's going to need it.