 |
HUNGARY |
| |
HALists/MAListák |
| |
Related |
|
Articles/Cikkek |
 |
Popular Sarkozy challenges Chirac
FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER SARKOZY IS OF HUNGARIAN ORIGIN
Yes he is, and he often mentions his ascendency. His father is Pal Nagy y Sarkozy, an aristocrat who fled Hungary in 1944. Nicolas speaks fluent Hungarian (although his father acquired French citizenship, he always considered himself as a Hungarian, and so taught the language to his children). Everyone in France is sure that Sarkozy will one day become president. He was a very appreciated Budget Minister during 1993 / 1995 (in Mitterand's coalition govt), but was kicked out of the govt when Chirac came to power in 1995 (although they are both from the same political party, Chirac was afraid of Sarkozy's ambitions and did not appreciate the fact that he supported Balladur's (prime minister of the time) candidacy against his). As Chirac's govt failed and lost the legislative elections of 1997, Chirac could not ignore the obvious, and had to bring Sarkozy back into the govt when he won back the legislative elections of 2002, although many were surprised that he was not appointed prime minister. So this article is just one illustration of a very old rivalry.
Popular Sarkozy challenges Chirac
By Caroline Wyatt
BBC Paris correspondent
In France, a bloody political battle is taking place between the ageing President Jacques Chirac and his younger protege, the Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
Forty-eight-year old Mr Sarkozy has dared to suggest in public that Mr Chirac should not seek a third term in office, but retire to make way for a younger man.
Mr Sarkozy clearly has someone in mind for the top job - himself.
As the minister, nicknamed Sarko, is currently more popular in the polls in France than his boss, Mr Chirac, that is creating trouble at the top.
So omnipresent is Mr Sarkozy on France's screens and in its newspapers that left-wing journalists have proposed having a "Sarkozy-free day".
But that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. The dynamic young minister and his photogenic wife, Cecilia, have no intention of lowering their profile.
Since coming to office, Mr Sarkozy has put more policemen on the streets than ever before, cracked down on drugs, crime and terrorism, and two thirds of the voters say they think he is great.
Mr Chirac does not trust anyone right now - except perhaps his wife and his daughter
Political analyst Frantz Olivier Giesbert
Not all of them, though. Mr Sarkozy's embarrassing moments included the time when the rather short interior minister was forced to stand on a white plastic chair to shout down hecklers in Corsica.
Yet none of his failures seem to stick - he is a Teflon politician.
And now, he is saying the unsayable - calling for the ageing Mr Chirac to stand down after his current term in office.
That is tantamount to regicide, especially as it was Jacques Chirac who had long been Mr Sarkozy's mentor.
Betrayal
But this is not his first betrayal of the boss. Mr Sarkozy backed a different candidate for the presidency in the mid 1990s - a betrayal Mr Chirac found hard to forget.
Political journalist Frantz Olivier Giesbert, editor-in-chief of the journal Le Point, thinks that Mr Chirac does not trust anyone right now - except perhaps his wife and his daughter.
"He was so betrayed that he has no confidence in anyone, especially in Nicolas Sarkozy," Mr Giesbert says.
He believes that with four years to go before the next presidential election, Mr Chirac still feels secure enough to laugh off the challenge from his interior minister, though he is unlikely to promote him any further.
Yet Mr Giesbert thinks he is clearly a serious future candidate for the top job, because he has charisma and is a very good speaker.
"When you see him on TV, it is always an event. He is so popular in France, because he is a man of action," he says.
A charismatic public speaker, who has taken the initiative on a host of issues from immigration to integration, Mr Sarkozy's politics and personality have polarised the nation.
The French either love him or hate him.
One man I spoke to on the streets of Paris says he agrees with Mr Sarkozy's policies, especially on the security front.
"We feel more secure in Paris. You can see, for example, that there are a lot of policemen in Champs Elysee. I think he is on the top of the list to succeed Mr Chirac," he says.
Touchy subject
A young woman disagrees. She says she hates Mr Sarkozy because he has punished teenagers for taking drugs and is very intolerant.
"Sarkozy is too young for me. He is like a little dog, too much excited," another woman adds.
Not the sort of comparison Mr Sarkozy would enjoy.
Yet his own clearly-expressed personal ambitions have tapped into a widespread feeling in France that Mr Chirac - already in his early 70s - should not cling to power too long.
It is a touchy subject at the Elysee Palace, where aides to the president have had to deny that Mr Chirac is going deaf and dyes his hair.
So, with a little patience, Mr Sarkozy may find himself in the running for the top job - if he hasn't ruined his chances by wielding the knife too soon.
|
 |
|
Revolution '06
