Comments on: Sarkozy’s First Speech as an Official Candidate http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/01/15/first-sarkozys-speech-as-official-candidate/ Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation Tue, 6 Jan 2009 23:38:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Amaya Bloch-Lainé http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/01/15/first-sarkozys-speech-as-official-candidate/#comment-12 Amaya Bloch-Lainé Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:50:20 +0000 http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/01/15/first-sarkozys-speech-as-official-candidate/#comment-12 Ségolène has not been clear about what should be done with EU's constitution, but she will have to get out of the woods soon on this. Her slogan is "faire l'Europe par la preuve" : build Europe by the proof. I guess this means Europe should move forward now on concrete policies which actually have an impact on people's everyday life and re-convince them the EU is part of the solution for more economic growth and well being. On work : remember Ségolène said something similiar about the need to give meaning and centrality to the values attached to labor and work. She may differ on taxes, but the two candidates have been developing a quite intellectual argument about "let's put people back to work and make them proud of it". Be careful : Sarkozy totally erased the word "rupture" from his vocabulary. 50% of his speech on sunday was about the way he changed, the way he discovered you should lead people to change peacefully, the way he realized he had to be less confrontational, etc, etc..So I would not bet 100% on Sarko being the one who will necessarily break the so-called French social model. I actually doubt anyone in the current French political spectrum would be daring enough to go this way with all the consequences it would bring along in terms of popularity and public opinion reactions...Someone said : we have the politicians we deserve. We want change but may not be ready to pay for it! Ségolène has not been clear about what should be done with EU’s constitution, but she will have to get out of the woods soon on this. Her slogan is “faire l’Europe par la preuve” : build Europe by the proof. I guess this means Europe should move forward now on concrete policies which actually have an impact on people’s everyday life and re-convince them the EU is part of the solution for more economic growth and well being.

On work : remember Ségolène said something similiar about the need to give meaning and centrality to the values attached to labor and work. She may differ on taxes, but the two candidates have been developing a quite intellectual argument about “let’s put people back to work and make them proud of it”.

Be careful : Sarkozy totally erased the word “rupture” from his vocabulary. 50% of his speech on sunday was about the way he changed, the way he discovered you should lead people to change peacefully, the way he realized he had to be less confrontational, etc, etc..So I would not bet 100% on Sarko being the one who will necessarily break the so-called French social model.

I actually doubt anyone in the current French political spectrum would be daring enough to go this way with all the consequences it would bring along in terms of popularity and public opinion reactions…Someone said : we have the politicians we deserve. We want change but may not be ready to pay for it!

]]> By: Jack http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/01/15/first-sarkozys-speech-as-official-candidate/#comment-10 Jack Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:50:17 +0000 http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/01/15/first-sarkozys-speech-as-official-candidate/#comment-10 It's interesting to see that Sarko is proposing that France doesn't repeat the referendum on the new EU constitution, treaty or whatever it's going to be called when it comes around again. Is this Ségo's position as well? I think he's certainly got a good point about needing a European neighborhood policy that is more than the lure of possible accession to the EU. How else will the EU be able to project its values in north Africa and the Caucasus? On work, Sarko seems to be walking hand-in-hand with the British Prime Ministerial heir apparent Gordon Brown. In this election there's a lot of talk about 'rupture', about breaking with the past. Counter-intuitively, it appears as though while Ségo is playing on being a 'breath of fresh air' after the Chirac era, it is Chirac's heir Sarko that is actually offering the break with the past in policy terms, in particular breaking with the sacred cow of the French social model. It’s interesting to see that Sarko is proposing that France doesn’t repeat the referendum on the new EU constitution, treaty or whatever it’s going to be called when it comes around again. Is this Ségo’s position as well?

I think he’s certainly got a good point about needing a European neighborhood policy that is more than the lure of possible accession to the EU. How else will the EU be able to project its values in north Africa and the Caucasus?

On work, Sarko seems to be walking hand-in-hand with the British Prime Ministerial heir apparent Gordon Brown.

In this election there’s a lot of talk about ‘rupture’, about breaking with the past. Counter-intuitively, it appears as though while Ségo is playing on being a ‘breath of fresh air’ after the Chirac era, it is Chirac’s heir Sarko that is actually offering the break with the past in policy terms, in particular breaking with the sacred cow of the French social model.

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