EU: Merkel Braces for Possible Sarkozy Election Defeat

Spiegelonline ^ | 3/30/2012 | Florian Gathmann and Stefan Simons

[bruinbirdman]

Angela Merkel initially refused to receive French presidential candidate François Hollande when he offered a meeting recently. But as his victory against Nicolas Sarkozy seems more likely, the German Chancellery has made its first contacts with the Socialist Party politician's camp. After all, Berlin and Paris must stick together.

For weeks, French President Nicolas Sarkozy fell hopelessly behind in polls against his Socialist Party opponent François Hollande, but in recent days he has narrowed the gap. Current polls show that Sarkozy might even manage to narrowly beat Hollande in the first round of voting on April 22. But in the run-off ballot on May 6, Hollande is still expected to win.

That means that France's future president could well be Hollande, a possibility for which the country's neighbors must begin making preparations. And that includes in Berlin, where the Chancellery has begun forging tentative ties with Hollande's camp.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel still hopes Sarkozy will ultimately win, having found in him a dependable ally, despite their personality differences. Particularly during the euro crisis, she and Sarkozy have stood side by side, most recently in advocating Merkel's pet project, the European fiscal pact, which obliges the 25 EU member states who have signed up to pursue greater budget discipline.

Meanwhile, Sarkozy's challenger Hollande has already announced that as president he would immediately try to renegotiate parts of the fiscal pact. From Merkel's perspective, that would be fatal, as it could destabilize the complete financial architecture of the new European Union.

But her hands are tied. The Chancellery seems to have resigned itself to accepting Hollande as the French leader, if necessary. The important Berlin-Paris alliance must continue to function.

Tentative Ties

And hence the first tentative ties are being forged between Hollande's and Merkel's camps. They

[zeestephen]

Sarkozy may lose to the Socialist candidate?

I have not been paying attention.

That will make investors very nervous.

[Waywardson]

If France is stupid enough to elect an outright... left... socialist, then the Muzzies can have them for all I care.

Someone get the lights please?

[Olog-hai]

They’ve done it before. Remember François Mitterand? He was the first Socialist Party president and even gave his party a majority in Parliament. (Even worse, he had courted France’s Communist Party and made them a part of government briefly.)

[wiggen]

“But her hands are tied. The Chancellery seems to have resigned itself to accepting Hollande as the French leader, if necessary. The important Berlin-Paris alliance must continue to function. “
It’s nice the Germans have resigned themselves to accepting the outcome of the French vote. Who writes these articles?

[varon]

If France is stupid enough to elect an outright... left... socialist,

Perhaps the French are emulating us............

[Kenny Bunk]

Sarkozy tried to outflank LePen and it backfired. The entire spectrum of the Left cannot handle the concept of getting tough on Muslims, immigration reform, and the stark fact of failed "multiculturalism." Of course, captitalism or government austerity are also no-no's.

Being Frogs, the Leftist groups hate each other, but they hate common sense even more. Sarkozy: "a toi la foutaise!"

[Buckeye McFrog]

in the end the French will all pull the lever for whomever promises to allow them to go back to retiring at age 60

[wolfman23601]

This is Sarkozy’s own fault for governing to the left, piddling with Merkel and the technocrat class, selling away sovereignty to the Germans, and putting the EU ahead of France. I guess they figure if they are going to have a socialist, they might as well have the real thing.