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Speedy Sarko's triumphant, Americanised, takeover of Chirac's party
France's main party of the Right, controlled for 28 years by President Jacques Chirac, passed into the hands of a new generation yesterday at a ceremony that bore more than a passing resemblance to a glitzy American party convention. Watched by 40,000 party faithful from across France, Nicolas Sarkozy, the former finance minister known to all as Speedy Sarko, claimed the leadership of the ruling UMP party. The event was choreographed by Mr Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, and the party militants were not disappointed. Stars of the stage, screen and political world lined up to offer video tributes. The former Spanish prime minister, José Maria Aznar, and the leader of Germany's Christian Democrats, Edmund Stoiber, joined the actors Alain Delon and Jean Reno, and Bernard Laporte, coach of the French rugby team, to wish Mr Sarkozy well. Ever the showman, Mr Sarkozy stopped at the front row to kiss Bernadette Chirac, dispatched by her absent husband. She smiled thinly as he grabbed her hand and thrust it into the air. Next came the inevitable embrace with his wife.While many politicians in France would be pained at this blatant Americanisation of French politics, Mr Sarkozy, an outspoken admirer of the United States, revelled in the glitz. The country's most popular politician, he promised not to disappoint those looking for change in French politics. He railed against those resigned to French decline and promised to uphold the "fighting spirit" of the Republic. "France is not a museum, not a tourist attraction. France is no longer afraid of change, it awaits it," he said. In a television interview last week, Mr Sarkozy, 49, said he had "not the slightest idea" whether he would run for President in 2007. Yesterday, he kept up the suspense, promising to back the best man for the job. But it was clear whom the party faithful favoured. "Sarkozy is the best placed to lead the UMP to victory in 2007. Chirac would be wise not to run," said Jean-Baptiste Lahoche, 18. "This is an historic event. We are witnessing the rebirth of French politics," said Laurent Cabioch, 18. On the one hand Mr Sarkozy sought to calm hostilities with Mr Chirac, praising Mr Chirac's stand against the United States over Iraq. But he made it clear that he would not simply toe the Chirac line. "I want to remain a free man," he said. French protocol dictates that the president does not attend party congresses. But even from his perch in the Elysée palace, Mr Chirac - who celebrates his 72nd birthday today - could hardly have appreciated the euphoria surely heralding his fin de regne. Ironically, he asked Mr Sarkozy to read out a congratulatory note in which he counted on the younger man's "vitality, efficiency and commitment". But Rolland Cayrol, head of the polling company, CSA institute, who holds frequent meetings with Mr Sarkozy, said: "There is a sort of perfect hatred between the two." Mr Chirac has never forgiven his former protege for betraying him politically and personally. In the same week, Mr Sarkozy jilted the president's daughter and quit running his presidential campaign to join Mr Chirac's rival. But in doing so, he was merely employing the tactics of the older man, who has a long history of devouring younger rivals. "I don't know why you hold something against me that you have always done," Mr Sarkozy once told him. Tres intéressant... Posted by: Bulldog 2004-11-29 |
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