Nicolas Sarkozy moves further to the right

[marmar]

PARIS (AFP) – France's President Nicolas Sarkozy named Prime Minister Francois Fillon head of a new smaller and more right-wing government Sunday, setting the stage for his undeclared 2012 re-election bid.

Despite months of intrigue in the run-up to the reshuffle, Sarkozy retained his big hitters, while shifting rightwards in favour of a team more likely to fall in behind his government's deficit-cutting austerity agenda.

Under a strengthened Fillon, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux remained in their jobs, while several other Sarkozy loyalists were promoted or saw their responsibilities widened.

Meanwhile, centre-right Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo -- the number two figure in the outgoing government and until recent days a frontrunner to become prime minister himself -- announced he was stepping down.

Popular Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a former Socialist minister, was replaced by Gaullist Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, and right-wing former prime minister Alain Juppe returned to government to take over defence.

In an ominous sign of splits in Sarkozy's support base, the outgoing defence minister, centre-right leader Herve Morin, denounced the new cabinet line-up as a right-wing "campaign team" in which he had no place. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101114/ts_afp/francepolitics_12

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. wasn't he a neocon?

[hendo]

2. Nope, he is a facist. Yet some people here still support him

Must be because he is French.

[Catherina]

3. Quelle surprise. Quel salaud. Aux armes citoyens! n/t