Regards, Ivan
Posted on 06/27/2004 10:21:10 PM PDT by MadIvan
France's ruling party was in crisis yesterday after a crude attempt by president Jacques Chirac to neuter his main political rival.
An emergency closed-door meeting of the centre-right UMP degenerated into a slanging match between the Chirac camp, led by prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and the numerous supporters of the ambitious finance minister, Nicolas Sarkozy.
The argument erupted after an ultimatum to Mr Sarkozy either to resign as minister or abandon his UMP leadership ambitions. Mr Sarkozy wants to run for the presidency in 2007.
Mr Chirac cited a convention under which "a minister cannot be at the same time president of the main party of the majority".
This was interpreted as a blatant attempt to block Mr Sarkozy's rise within the party and his stated ambition to replace Mr Chirac.
The president, now 71, has not said whether he will seek a third term. But he is known to want to thwart the ambitions of Mr Sarkozy, whom he has never forgiven for backing a presidential rival in 1995.
Mr Sarkozy gave no official reaction to the demand, but his supporters said they did not see why rules that were not enforced for others should be made to apply in this case.
They pointed out that Mr Chirac served as prime minister and party leader from 1986 to 1988, as did his protege Alain Juppe between 1995 and 1997. There was also no objection raised when it was mooted that the current prime minister might take over the UMP job as well.
Mr Juppe's planned resignation from the UMP presidency after his conviction for corruption has led to the increasingly bitter in-fighting over the leadership of the centre-right, and potentially France.
Mr Sarkozy, 49, has been marshalling his forces ahead of the vote for the new UMP president, which is due to take place at a party congress in November, with a view to using the position - and the financial clout that comes with it - as a launching pad for his presidential bid.
But during the party's national council over the weekend, Mr Raffarin, the president's staunch lieutenant, made it clear that whoever took over the UMP would be expected to toe Mr Chirac's line. "There is no place [for those] against the president in the president's camp," he said.
He also said it was unthinkable to have the party leader and the prime minister in the same cabinet.
Unfazed and evidently bent on calling Mr Chirac's bluff, Mr Sarkozy said: "I respect all rules on condition that they apply to everybody and are set at the start of the game - clearly not the case. France belongs to those who desire it most."
Created by Mr Chirac in 2002, the UMP is in disarray after recent heavy defeats to the socialists in regional and European elections. An increasing number of militants argue that only Mr Sarkozy can save them from defeat in parliamentary and presidential elections in three years.
For both men the stakes of this political chess game are high.
Mr Sarkozy knows that his image as a man of action will be seriously tainted if he loses his ministerial post. But he does not want to appear to be brazenly defying the president and thus lose party support, which explains why he agreed to a forced show of unity with the prime minister at the end of the weekend meeting.
Mr Chirac could lose the presidency to Mr Sarkozy if he fails to stop his rise. But it will be hard to justify sacking the cabinet's most popular minister over such an issue. Blocking his attempt to lead the UMP could split the party and play into the hands of the socialists who hope to win back power in 2007.
The Right-wing politician Philippe de Villiers, leader of the Mouvement pour la France, said the UMP was already "mortally wounded". Bernard Debre, deputy for the centrist UDF party, said the battle was proof that Mr Chirac had reached "the end of his political existence".
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Good news, I think, to see that Sarkozy is putting up a fight. Everything I've read indicates that his leadership would be a great improvement over anything France has had in recent history.
I hope it gets worse...much worse.
Just exactly how is he in trouble? He just got elected to another seven year term in 2002, and will retire in about five years.
Poo JOCK. Guess the French are actually figuring him out for what he is-a snake in the grass.
Chirac's karma chomping him on the bum...
Yes, I hope it gets much worse for Chirac too. Turnabout is fair play, after all. ;-D
I don't see how Chirac can get away with such tactics. With Sarkozy's moves, you'd think Jacques would be walking lightly.
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