Doomsday Atmosphere Sarkozy 'Against the Ropes' in Re-Election Fight

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,810149,00.html


AFP
French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves after a crisis summit with business and labor leaders in Paris on Jan. 18.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is unpopular, defeated, and tired. Only three months ahead of the election, he is frantically battling the image of a failed presidency. A host of media sources in the country are signaling that the Sarkozy-era is nearly finished.

Nicolas Sarkozy's weekly agenda looks like a political marathon these days. On Monday, a meeting with Spain's prime minister in Madrid, on Tuesday shaking hands with farmers in the Midi-Pyrénées region, and on Wednesday an invitation to business and labor leaders for a crisis summit in Paris. Meanwhile, Thursday offers up a welcome address to companies in Lyon, Friday includes New Year's greetings to the diplomatic corps, and Saturday is a detour to the overseas department of Guiana.

Every day features a media-worthy event, a weighty announcement, and therefore an opportunity for generating headlines and gripping TV images. Almost three months before the first round of the presidential elections, France's head of state has dusted off his role of "hyper-president," which characterized the first phase of his time in office. The effect of the G20 summit in Cannes, and the accolades from US President Barack Obama? Forgotten. The New Year's address full of rousing appeals? Over.

Sarkozy shuttles quickly back and forth between Paris and the provinces, and though officially not a candidate, in reality he is already in campaign mode. He is a haunted, restless president, battling his crumbling popularity amid economic misery. He faces rising debt, a growing budget deficit, endemic unemployment and then the embarrassing downgrade by the ratings agency Standard & Poor's last week. Sarkozy seems both stricken and nervous.

***adieu monsieur 1%.