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An Excess of Ambition for Sarkozy
The New York Times ^ | July 26, 2010 | JOHN VINOCUR

Posted on 07/27/2010 10:14:35 PM PDT by Cincinna

At a cabinet meeting last week, the French government issued a decree creating a general secretariat to serve France’s upcoming turn at the rotating presidency of the G-8 and G-20 economic summit groups.

Workaday stuff, seemingly, coming alongside directives concerning the functions of the French Coast Guard and the purview of the minister in charge of rural and territorial affairs.

But if you think big — and the French and their president, Nicolas Sarkozy, can think grandiose (as in organizing “a new international monetary order”) — then this was the first official and annunciatory clash of cymbals in the short reign of Nicolas, king of the G-20, from November 2010 until November 2011.

Yes, Mr. Sarkozy is wobbling at home with a current 61 percent disapproval rating in national polls; a running sore of a scandal involves a key cabinet minister, cash gifts, special favors and France’s richest woman; and massive street demonstrations are likely in September against a reform of the country’s retirement and pension system. That’s not to mention the existence of a still vague austerity program meant to sharply decrease the level of French debt and deficits that a Gaullist party budget expert last week acknowledged “lacks credibility.”

And, yes, this skips over the fragility of the euro, the International Monetary Fund’s projections of feeble growth in the euro zone, and the prospect of grief from France’s engagement in Afghanistan or a heightening of tensions with Iran.

Still, here is Mr. Sarkozy, whose international calling card could read Energy + Chutzpah Unltd., preparing for his year of setting the agenda for the world’s economic summit meetings with the goal of demonstrating, as he has said, “America no longer has the world’s only currency.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: ambition; france; sarkozy; ump

1 posted on 07/27/2010 10:14:37 PM PDT by Cincinna
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To: Cincinna; nctexan; MassachusettsGOP; paudio; ronnie raygun; Minette; fieldmarshaldj; untenured; ...

*** FRENCH POLITICS AND CULTURE PING LIST *** FREEPMAIL ME IF YOU WANT TO JOIN ***

SARKO “blind ambition”

OBAMA “courageous political charisma”

Interesting article by IHT journalist John Vinocur, who fancies himself an expert on French politics. Actually, he is quite knowledgeable about France, but such a left wing journalist parrot, that he has forgotten what he ever knew about good journalism and objectivity.

Expect a hit piece a week from now until the 2012 elections in France. The long knives are out for Sarko. He is tyrying to prevent France from falling off a precipace, culturally and economically.

We wish him “bonne chance!”


2 posted on 07/27/2010 10:23:07 PM PDT by Cincinna (TIME TO REBUILD * ? * RYAN * 2012)
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To: Cincinna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_complex


3 posted on 07/27/2010 11:30:12 PM PDT by mainsail that ("A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights" - Napoleon Bonaparte)
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To: mainsail that

POPPYCOCK PSYCHOBABBLE!

The hit piece on Sarko by John Vinocur is full of left wing bias and outright lies.

Sarko has more brains and balls than almost any other leader in politics.

Certainly 10,000 times more than the skinny tall poseur we have sitting in our White House.


4 posted on 07/27/2010 11:39:00 PM PDT by Cincinna (TIME TO REBUILD * ? * RYAN * 2012)
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To: Cincinna

/bingo


5 posted on 07/28/2010 8:11:33 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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