How could this be? Mr. Sarkozy was elected in 2007 on a wave of optimism. He was a force of personality, a bundle of twitchy energy on a mission to restore France’s economic, cultural and military glory. His catchy message was “work more, earn more.” His risky Libya mission paid off. He had a glamorous supermodel wife – Carla Bruni – who gave his life a touch of fairy tale magic. He was not afraid to let you know that he liked money, success and fat Cuban cigars. President Bling Bling, they called him.
Now he’s on the defensive, trailing in the polls, and faces being trounced by an unlikely candidate, the bland (in comparison) François Hollande of the Socialist Party, while Marine Le Pen, of the xenophobic, anti-euro, extreme right Front National party, is coming on strong. Their wildly divergent views of what will fix France and the euro zone, or whether France should even use the euro, reflect the existential debate raging within almost every euro zone country. Never has skepticism about the euro project been greater or potentially more damaging to economic prosperity.
Sadly for Mr. Sarkozy, the performance of the French economy has turned into a popularity contest and he isn’t on top. The latest polls put Mr. Hollande leading Mr. Sarkozy by 31 per cent to 23.5 per cent in the spring election. Ms. Le Pen comes in third at 20 per cent, making her a formidable force. Mr. Sarkozy is a good campaigner (he has yet officially to launch his comeback bid), so the next polls may show a narrowing between the two top candidates. Still, Mr. Sarkozy could easily lose.
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