Politics In Depth
Archive Search
The Problem with Sarkozy
May 30, 2008
He got divorced and remarried. What else did the French president do in his first year in office?
Abstract: Gabriela Perdomo - It is hard to find out. Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration has delivered on some of his campaign promises, but nobody seems to know that. For most of his first year at the Élysée, all eyes were too set in the president’s personal soap opera to care about policy decisions. His family life has stabilized now so there is no more media craze left. Now Sarkozy must face the fact that this operetta has harmed both his persona and his mandate to make decisions as France’s head of state.
Gabriela Perdomo - It is hard to find out. Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration has delivered on some of his campaign promises, but nobody seems to know that. For most of his first year at the Élysée, all eyes were too set in the president’s personal soap opera to care about policy decisions. His family life has stabilized now so there is no more media craze left. Now Sarkozy must face the fact that this operetta has harmed both his persona and his mandate to make decisions as France’s head of state.
In May 2007, just after he was elected, Sarkozy was widely popular. Practically two-thirds of the country had a positive opinion of the new president. As Jacques Chirac’s successor, Sarkozy knew he would need as much public support as he could get in order to introduce radical economic and social reforms that, according to his own goals, would bring back France on its feet and to the leadership position it once enjoyed in Europe.
His start was commendable. Sarkozy’s strong public backing helped his Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party win 314 seats in a legislative election the following summer, strengthening his chances to deliver on his promises. The president talked about change, hard work and commitment to sustained economic growth.
To some extent, that is precisely what he delivered. The new president and his appointed prime minister, François Fillon, introduced reforms touching sensible issues like labour and immigration laws, as well as university governance. The bills were swiftly approved by legislators, but by no means were they easy to explain to the public at large. Despite inevitable confrontations between the Sarkozy administration and interest groups—mainly student and workers’ unions—the surveys showed that the French trusted both Sarkozy and Fillon to tackle the country’s main issues.
In November, a massive transport strike paralyzed the country as the government sought to end pension privileges for rail workers. This was Sarkozy’s first and biggest test and, by all accounts, he handled it well. A deal was reached after nine days, and the government got the upper hand. This should have been the moment for Sarkozy to seal his mandate and push forward with more of his promised reforms. Instead, the president became trapped in the world of tabloids. A divorce; a whirlwind romance with Carla Bruni, a former top model; a wedding. Although fascinated with the entertainment, the French lost respect for Sarkozy. By January, less than 50 per cent of people in France had a positive opinion of the president, according to a BVA poll. To this day, as other surveys conducted throughout this year can attest, Sarkozy has failed to recover his popularity. To make things worse, an LH2 poll in May showed that most people in France would pick Ségolène Royal, the Socialist Party (PS) candidate defeated by Sarkozy in last year’s presidential run-off, if they had the chance to vote again.
On the bright side, the numbers have stopped falling. Recent surveys show that around 40 per cent of respondents have a favourable opinion of Sarkozy. Also encouraging is the fact that the prime minister has maintained a healthy level of support during the entire year. Public backing for Fillon consistently stands at round 52 per cent, suggesting that not all is lost for the credibility of Sarkozy’s administration.
Sarkozy’s first year in office was disappointing, at least on the domestic front. The president shot himself on the foot by exposing his personal life to the media. However, it is only fair to say that the bad performance was more to blame on his imprudence that on a lack of ideas to govern the country. Earlier this month, the president acknowledged his mistakes and promised a fresh start. He will need it. Unions have announced more strikes for the summer; students remain uneasy about promised workplace reforms and university-funding laws; retailers are brazing for confrontation over new policies seeking to promote open competition; and while unemployment has shrunk, it remains a serious issue. A shrinking global economy will not help the case for economic reforms, so the president will need to stay focused.
It is time for Sarkozy—and the media—to leave his first year at the Élysée behind and be grateful that the opposition remains incapable of capitalizing on his mistakes. The president has a competent team behind him. He should start managing it better.