With the hyperactivity
and "cop-in-chief" attitude, Nicolas Sarkozy was unlike any French
president before him. His failure to win a second term is due to different
mistakes and an economic crisis. Now France wonders if "Sarko" is
really gone for good. Sarkozy is a politician who “doubts nothing, especially
not himself,” said Jacques Chirac, who was his first mentor[1].
The main causes of his failure are:
1.
Immigration: uninhibited
speech on immigration by Sarkozy, is one of the causes to be failed during the
2012 election; his philosophy was concerned with fighting against immigration,
and security.-"We have too many foreigners in our country," said Sarkozy
before 2012 election. He continued “Borders are not a bad word” in fact it is
concerning with limiting the number of immigrants France takes in, this will be
done by cutting down on immigration and strengthen border controls; this philosophy
shows how Sarkozy was lying the French population with many contradiction in
himself, like in 2006 he was willing to open the door for different person to
come in France; he said” dans la france don’t je rêve, tout doit etre les
francais, la france aux francais”. Finally the symbolic action (expulsion of
small groups of Roma, televised dawn raids, and so on) was stepped up, and the
rhetorical assault grew louder, For more understanding his contradiction
on the issue of immigration please watch this movie which clarify the
contradiction on the speech at Périgueux and
speech at Grenoble on
the following link (comparison of Sarkozy speeches on 12th October 2006
–Discours de periguex and on 30th July 2010-Discours de Grenoble) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeebsm_nicolas-sarkozy-et-l-immigration-ch_news
2.
Unemployment: Sarkozy
wanted the French to “work more to earn more,” to halve unemployment. He did
not succeed to achieve that objectives contrary he has failed to control
unemployment and 'abandoned industry'.
3.
International
relation: Nicolas Sarkozy also believes that he made the
right choice by sending the French Army to the Ivory Coast and to Libya in
support of the Arab Spring, which he first underestimated. Mr. Sarkozy had led
a significant rapprochement between the French and American governments on
foreign affairs, joining Washington in promoting harsh new penalties for
Iran and playing a leading role in gathering an international coalition to
topple the Libyan dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, among other actions[2].
Talking to Africa Nikola sarkozy said “The
tragedy of Africa is that the African has never really entered into history...
They have never really launched themselves into the future... The African
peasant, who for thousands of years has lived according to the seasons, whose
life ideal was to be in harmony with nature, only knew the eternal renewal of
time... In this imaginary world, where everything starts over and over again,
there is room neither for human endeavour, nor for the idea of progress... The
problem of Africa... is to be found here. Africa's challenge is to enter to a
greater extent into history... It is to realise that the golden age that Africa
is forever recalling will not return, because it has never existed.[3]”
4.
Economic
crisis: Sure, many European economies are in worse shape
than the U.S. Countries across the continent are struggling to find ways to
cope with the growing financial crisis. From the nationalization of domestic
banks to multi-billion cash injections into the capital markets, Europe's
politicians, regulators, and market players are trying different approaches to
deal with the mounting problems[4].
Comments: Mr. Hollande, in contrast, ran on a promise of
rebalancing Europe away from austerity and toward growth, and his narrow
victory is seen in Washington as a public rejection of governments imposing
strict cuts on battered economies.
5.
Tax reforms: His
platform relies on tax rises, mainly on the rich and companies, to fund
spending on schools, state-aided job creation and letting those who started
work at 18 retire at 60, while simultaneously working towards balancing the
budget by 2017. Sarkozy's tax reform hits snag in parliament French
President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to cut companies' social welfare charges
suffered a hitch on Monday with a parliamentary panel rejecting the reform
aimed at restoring French firms' flagging international competitiveness.
Facing an uphill battle for re-election in an April/May election, Sarkozy wants
to push the reform through ahead of the vote, counting on it to help restore
his economic credentials, dented by soaring unemployment and a record trade
deficit[5].
Defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy may sound a political
warning for Obama
French President
Nicolas Sarkozy's defeat could be a bad omen for President Barack Obama.
Sarkozy on Sunday
joined a growing list of leaders swept aside by Europe's economic crisis
or byausterity measures hated by voters. Some 11 have now fallen,
including Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and Spain's Jose Louis Rodriguez
Zapatero.
Sure, many European
economies are in worse shape than the U.S. But there are some similarities,
including broad voter skepticism on both sides of the Atlantic that government
programs are doing much to spur growth or produce jobs.
Polls show most
Americans still think the country remains in recession, even though it
technically ended almost three years ago. They also show Republican Mitt
Romney leading Obama on handling economic issues.
That's not good for
Obama, with the economy still the No. 1 election issue.
Romney often links the
president to Europe, suggesting Obama "wants to make us a European-style
welfare state."
In Charlotte, N.C.,
Romney recently quipped that Obama won't stand alongside Greek columns at this
year's Democratic convention as he did in 2008. "He's not going to want to
remind anyone of Greece, because he's put us on a road to become more like
Greece." Charlotte hosts the Democrats in September.
North Carolina, Indiana
and West Virginia hold Republican primaries Tuesday, with Romney
expected to sweep all three in his march toward the Republican presidential
nomination.
The Europeanization of
Obama is a Republican attempt to distance him from his own country. Never mind
that government programs in Europe have little in common with Obama's, that
Republican budgets propose more austerity than Obama's or that Sarkozy was
beaten by a real socialist.
The president's
re-election campaign is fighting back by portraying America on the rise under
Obama. "We're not there yet. It's still too hard for many. But we're
coming back," says an Obama television ad released Monday[6].
Change in Paris May Better Fit U.S. Economic
Positions
With the victory of the
Socialist candidate,François Hollande, in the
French presidential election, the White House has lost one of its closest
allies on the Continent, but perhaps gained one with economic policy beliefs
more closely aligned with its own.
Mr. Hollande is
virtually unknown in Washington, and his policy positions on both domestic and
international affairs remain only lightly sketched out. That is in stark
contrast to the departing president, Nicolas Sarkozy, whose
frequent discussions with and ardent defense of the White House earned him the
nickname “Sarko the American” back home.
But in the past few
months, Mr. Sarkozy has parted from the White House in his support of the
German-led austerity project in the debt-soaked euro zone, a project that the
White House objects to on the grounds that cutting budgets too soon will
lead to sluggish growth and high unemployment across Europe without satisfying
the demands of skittish bond investors; more info on http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/world/europe/hollandes-economic-policy-may-better-suit-the-us.html?_r=1&ref=europeansovereigndebtcrisis.
Prepared by Jean Paul
On 09th May 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment