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| Europe |
| Chirac |
| 2007-03-21 |
| Yes, France matters. They have nukes. French President Jacques Chirac lent his In a brief televised statement Chirac said Sarkozy had been chosen as the candidate of the ruling UMP party, a center right formation he set up in 2002 and which Sarkozy now leads. "So it is totally natural that I give him my vote and my support," he said in a statement that lacked any sign of personal warmth. Failure to secure Chirac's endorsement could have undermined Sarkozy's credentials as the right's candidate. "I am very touched by this decision," Sarkozy said in a statement. "It is important for me on a political but also on a personal level." Chirac said Sarkozy would step down next week as interior minister, the post in which the 52-year-old made his name as a law and order hard-liner, to focus on his campaign ahead of the first round of the election on April 22. Sarkozy has consistently led his Socialist rival Segolene Royal in opinion polls which suggest he would secure a clear victory if they faced each other in the second round on May 6. But he faces a growing threat from centrist Francois Bayrou who has been campaigning as the man to overcome the traditional divisions of French politics. Though continuing the traditional anti-Americanism. He is running third in polls but would have a good chance of winning, if he made it through to the run-off, by rallying the anti-Sarkozy vote. Sarkozy fell out with Chirac after backing his rival Edouard Balladur in the 1995 election and he began his campaign by antagonizing Chirac with repeated pledges to break with the policies of the past. But he has come to count on the president's endorsement to soften his image as a divisive hard-liner. Although polls showed Chirac would have been humiliatingly defeated had he chosen to seek a third term, his position as the Sarkozy will be replaced as interior minister by Francois Baroin, minister of France's overseas territories. Health Minister Xavier Bertrand, Sarkozy's main campaign spokesman, will also step down on Monday, his office said. |
| Posted by:Jackal |