Posted on 05/18/2007 9:45:11 PM PDT by Cincinna
Officially, it is "not a message" addressed to the new French authorities. But stated by the number two person in the State Department, in Paris, the same day as the inauguration of Nicolas Sarkozy, these comments inevitably sound like a warning addressed to the new French president.
John Negroponte appealed to France to keep its troops in Afghanistan, thus responding to Nicolas Sarkozy's statements that had implicitly advocated their eventual withdrawal.
"It is important that all our allies, including France, recognize the importance of staying together and united in Afghanistan. Each country makes a decisive contribution to our ability to succeed," emphasized the former US representative to the UN and in Iraq, appointed on 13 February to assist Condoleezza Rice.
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has 37,000 men from 37 countries under NATO command. The French contingent in Afghanistan has a thousand soldiers, stationed in the Kabul region that is largely spared the fighting. The 200 French commandos of the Special Operations Command (COS) left Afghanistan at the end of the winter.
Until the summer of 2006 they had been deployed in the Spin Boldak region southeast of Kandahar, the theatre of frequent clashes with the Taleban.
Under the restrictions governing the engagement of ISAF participants, the French ground forces restrict themselves to stabilization actions. This posture has often provoked complaints from countries whose troops are more exposed.
by Claire Bommelaer
http://www.lefigaro.fr/english/20070518.WWW000000981_fillon_and_kouchner_received_well_by_public_opinion.html
According to OpinionWay, 61 per cent of the French approve the appointment of Francois Fillon. He is brave (68 per cent), competent, likable, and able to carry out reforms: the 19th Politoscopie Le Figaro-LCI-OpinionWay poll finds that the French had a good image of Francois Fillon even before he was named. For 61 per cent of them, "it is a good thing" that he is at Matignon. More than a fourth of the voters of the non-socialist left and 30 per cent of Royal's voters also approved of his arrival beforehand, as well as 60 per cent of Bayrou's voters. Francois Fillon will have 15 ministers in his government and OpinionWay sounded out the French on the appointment of two of them, the former prime minister Alain Juppe and the socialist Bernard Kouchner. For the former, only 43 per cent of those questioned feel his appointment to the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Rransportation, and Regional Management would be a good thing. The voters of the left in particular are not very favourable about the arrival of the former prime minister, who in 1995 tried to reform the special retirement systems and drew more than a million people into the streets. But that is not the key point, because 65 per cent of Nicolas Sarkozy's voters approved the presence of this heavyweight Chirac supporter who rallied to the future president on behalf of the unity of the right and avoided "sound bites" in recent months.
Symbol of Opening Opinions are largely favourable to the appointment of the highly popular Bernard Kouchner to Foreign Affairs, at 71 per cent, and it is approved by 55 per cent of those who voted for Royal in the first round. If Kouchner's participation in the Fillon government is a symbol of opening for the right, it is also a sign of a weakening of the left, as the Socialist leaders bitterly observed. Last of all, OpinionWay questioned the French about the legislative elections. On 10 May, more than half of those questioned wanted Nicolas Sarkozy to have a majority when the elections are over. Six days later this proportion had risen, as if the French people wanted to firmly turn their back on a power-sharing government and consolidate the gains of 6 May.
The FRENCH ELECTION PING LIST will continue to report on the Sarkozy government as it takes effect.
The Legislative Elections are in June. Two rounds, same as for the Presidential.
Instead of multiple threads, I will be posting one thread a day that will link to other important developments.
Please FReepMail me to get on or off the LIST
Many thanks to all for your enthusiastic participation.
We all have great hopes and expectations for Sarko and France.
À votre santé !
Next month shall be interesting.
This just in from The Financial Times UK
SARKOZY HIJACKS THE LEFT AND CENTER
By Peggy Hollinger and Adam Jones in Paris
May 18 2007
Valérie Pécresse was a bit flustered when she arrived to take up her new job as France’s minister for higher education and research on Friday. Summoned to her new ministry with just a few minutes’ warning, the 39-year-old mother of three was forced to hitch a ride from a stranger to get there on time.
Nothing illustrates better the sense of urgency that is besetting this new French government, which for the first time brings together 15 ministers from across the political spectrum despite a clear parliamentary majority for the right.
Unemployment, the labour market, the tax system, justice, and higher education – all these are targeted for significant reform, many even before the summer is out. So it was important that President Sarkozy’s new government not only got moving but was made up of individuals capable of delivering on his campaign pledges. For despite his firm majority in the presidential elections, Mr Sarkozy will know the risk he runs from France’s traditional street protests.
Naming a centrist and socialist as ministers and three others from the left as secretaries of state – including Jean-Pierre Jouyet, a close friend of Socialist party leader François Hollande – was “a hijacking of the left and the centre,” says Dominique Moisi, a political commentator. “It is shrewd political manoeuvring.”
Shrewd indeed, as Mr Sarkozy appears to have saved his political peace-making appointments for posts where either he or Prime Minister François Fillon will exert the greatest direct control. Bernard Kouchner, a former Socialist minister, becomes foreign minister. Hervé Morin, who was head of the centrist UDF’s parliamentary party, is defence minister, an area where Mr Fillon is expected to take great interest.
Meanwhile his desire for successful reform is equally evident in the decision to restructure certain ministries and to appoint either close allies or politicians well versed in delicate social issues to run them.
Mr Borloo, who won popularity as the dishevelled but effective social cohesion minister, will take charge of a revamped economy and finance ministry. He shares responsibility for employment with Xavier Bertrand, the former health minister and a Sarkoziste, who becomes labour and social relations minister. It is Mr Bertrand who will be charged with the difficult task of winning over unions to the liberalisation of France’s notoriously rigid labour market, reforming pensions and introducing a minimum service in the transport sector in the event of strikes.
Meanwhile another loyalist, Eric Woerth, will take on the uphill task of managing France’s public debt and finances.
Elsewhere Brice Hortefeux, Mr Sarkozy’s closest ally and longest supporter, takes charge of the sensitive ministry for immigration and national identity, while campaign spokeswoman Rachdia Dati will lead reform of the penal code as justice minister. Christine Lagarde, former foreign trade boss, will become agriculture minister, while Chirac supporter and former defence minister Michèle Alliot-Marie was rewarded with the interior ministry.
Finally Mr Sarkozy’s closeness to several media moguls – and its effect on journalistic independence – has long been a source of controversy in France. But this has not stopped him from appointing Catherine Pégard, a journalist who wrote articles about his campaign for Le Point magazine, as a presidential communications adviser.
Her appointment and that of Miriam Lévy, a reporter at the Figaro, to advise Prime Minister Fillon is a clear signal that the new government knows its biggest risk is in the domain of public opinion. If that battle is lost, the frenetic energy of these early days will all have been for nothing.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
I certainly agree!
The earliest polls are showing that Sarko’s Party, UMP, along with the pro-UMP members of UDF, with gain a very large majority.
IIRC, the numbers are 56-44 .
Going to war without the French is like going deer hunting without your accordian.
Message from our friend Boz at French Election 2007 :
Boz has a new site to cover French Politics :
http://frenchpolitique.blogspot.com/
“Welcome to Politique. Here you will find the latest news and analysis of French politics. This is the successor to the site French Election 2007, which covered the French election from November 2006 through May 2007. Enjoy! “
Doyou think his Party can win an absolute majority?
According to the latest polls, which I will attempt to translate over the weekend, all indications are an absolute majority for Sarko’s Party UMP.
The first round is predicted at Right 56 Left 44.
The second round will show more seats going to UMP and to pro-UMP members of UDF, and big losses for the Socialists.
The National Front of Jean-Marie le Pen is not expected to gain many seats, far less than the ones he has now.
- Why would anyone wish to get OFF the list?
Thanks to this continuous flow of good news from France, several Conservatives in Europe, America and elsewhere daily gain faith in the possibility of improving not only France, not only the true essence of Europe, but also the relations between the millions of Europeans and Americans who are honorable and moral inhabitants of their respective continents.
Of course, these single moments of French progress are, in themselves, no revolutions.
But phrases like ‘a minori ad majus’ and ‘a parte ad totum’ (’from the lesser to the greater’ and ‘from the part to the whole.’) somehow continues to leap to mind.
Sarkozy has already provided millions of Europeans, even outside of France, with something of vital importance for common progress:
Hope.
Just like the countries of Europe are close neighbors, hope is next door neighbor to progress.
Like Churchill put it to a population beginning to realize there is no future in despondency and disbelief:
“Come then let us go forward together in our united strength”
Une nouvelle Europe? - Je te jure que c’est vrai!!
I really appreciate your perspective.
I see in Sarkozy that rare quality of a leader. A man who has a strong vision of his goals, and the intelligence and political ability to carry it out. He also has that rare quality, the ability to inspire hope and confidence in the future. Someone who can bring people together to focus on what is truly important.
Churchill and Reagan come to mind. Only History will tell.
Now all we need is someone like that right here at home.
Christine Boutin, who become minister for housing yesterday, is a pro-life defender and strongly oppose to the PACS (Civil Union for Homosexuals). And in the same governement we have Kouchner, who is for euthanazia...
Apparently the White House thinks diffrently.
I made a quick search on Altavista and Google in Swedish using the phrase “Sarkozy är”, meaning “Sarkozy is”.
Very few of the hits proved to contain negative judgements about Sarkozy. In fact, there were a lot more POSITIVE than NEUTRAL statements about him. Seems like many other people in my part of the world share my impression.
Like you said “Only History will tell.”
Let’s not expect too much.
But sometimes ‘gut feelings’ are right. My instant ‘gut feeling’ about Sarko was that of a guy who is open, friendly, determined, intelligent and not afraid to speak his mind or to be a leader.
“Now all we need is someone like that right here at home.”
- No doubt leadership is important. However, I’m convinced there are so many things that are great about The US of today that the country will continue to prosper and produce good citizens even under a comparatively weak president.
Best of regards.
That is pretty untrue by far. One thing I do find scary is that France, Canada, Germany is heading more conservative than we are. We are definitely going the direction to the left....ugh!!!!
This is France. it is not ging to change overnight.
I have known Nicolas Sarkozy and have been following his career for more than 20 years. He is quite impressive. They call him the most gifted and smartest politician of his generation. I agree.
The Sarko hatred, which I call SDS, similar to BDS, (Bush Derangement Syndrome) is rampant on the Net.
“The Sarko hatred, which I call SDS, similar to BDS, (Bush Derangement Syndrome) is rampant on the Net.”
I see. I’m glad few Swedish internet users seem to participate in it.
Thanks Cincinna. Pakistan and India are the new areas of expansion for al-Qaeda activity.
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.