Sarko Has France Tilting Right

France has just turned Red, but not in the communist sense. Yesterday, May 16, could go down in history as a “May Day” for right-wing celebration. Conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy of the UMP became the 23rd president of the French Republic promising great reforms that mirror the “red-meat” idealism of Red State America. Sarkozy came to power by defeating socialist candidate Segolene Royal 53 to 47 percent in a run-off election that was held May 6. Producing a turnout of 85%, it was the most heavily-participated election since 1965.

All of the left-wing candidates who didn’t qualify for the run-off united behind Royal in firm opposition to Sarkozy and his so-called “radical,” “fascist,” and “authoritarian” agenda. The trend, however, for all left-leaning parties in France since 2002, has been a
loss of public support.

Sarkozy, or “Sarko” as he is known, received considerable help from the National Front party in a coalition of the Right. Their platform consists of: Traditional Values, including opposition to abortion, opposition to homosexual marriage and support for religion; National Independence from the EU and similar international organizations; reinstitution of the Death Penalty; Stricter Sentencing for criminals; Opposition to Muslim Immigration; maintaining a Strong Military; Lower Taxes; Less Spending; Privatization; Smaller Government; Limits on Labor Strikes for public servants; and, an overall more favorable foreign policy toward the U.S.

By contrast, the socialist Royal promoted an agenda for: reinstitution of free medical care for illegal aliens; voting privileges for illegal aliens; free contraception for women under 25; taxation of private TV companies to fund public media; guarantees of government-provided housing; protection of all welfare-state benefits; the creation of over 500,000 subsidized jobs; the raising of the minimum wage by 20%; and, reducing the highly successful nuclear energy program.

Liberals in America may not like the socialist label, but in almost every important aspect they resemble their socialist counterparts in all other countries around the world. The voter breakdown also follows a familiar “red/blue” pattern.

Those typically voting for the French conservative Sarkozy were: men, farmers, the middle and upper classes, the religious and the non-Boomer generations. Those favoring the socialist ticket were: women, urban-residents, the unemployed, public servants, students and the hippy generation.

Sarkozy is regarded as a very charismatic leader with great oratory skills and a high “likeability” factor. He’s advocating an economic model in the style of American and British capitalism. He seems to be a political revolutionary in the mold of Reagan and Thatcher who wants to overhaul the tax system to make it more fair and simple. He believes in “workfare” and reducing budget deficits. But, perhaps his greatest revolutionary influence will be in the area of Immigration.

France, like most of Europe, is culturally disappearing as the result of a negative birth rate and a huge influx of legal and illegal immigration coming primarily from Muslim countries. As Minister of the Interior, Sarkozy has more than doubled the number of deportations since 2002. He has been criticized for saying immigrants who don’t like France “should leave it.” His police raids against illegal aliens have been strongly opposed by the Left.

Sarkozy must wait for a June Parliament election to determine how far he will be able to go with his reforms. With so many party factions splintering the vote it may be difficult for him to obtain a working majority for his mandate of change. Nevertheless, Sarkozy remains optimistic and confident that the election will yield successful results.

Unemployment has been running in double digits for many years during the Chirac-era, and the youth unrest of 2005 underscores a continuing disturbance that must be addressed by the new administration. During the famous Paris riots and fires of 2005 Sarkozy disturbed many on the Left by calling the agitated participants “riff raff,” “delinquents,” and “thugs.” He’s also drawn condemnation from the Liberals of France for questioning a judge who freed a man on parole who later committed murder. Chirac even took Sarkozy to task for showing public disdain for anti-American sentiments being expressed by the French government. In Sarkozy’s victory speech, he pledged, “friendship with the world’s greatest democracy,” adding that, “France will always be there when they [the United States] need us.”

Maybe what irritates the French Leftists most is Sarkozy’s recent book “The Republic, Religion and Hope,” in which he suggests to the French youth that they should consider investigating Religion for some of the answers to their problems. It may not quite be the equivalent of the “Religious Right” in America, but Sarkozy does profess that his chief role model is Pope John Paul II. Considering that great Cold War, conservative alliance of Pope John Paul, Reagan and Thatcher- maybe France really does have its own modern conservative hero who will finally revolutionize their country with a rebirth of freedom, patriotism and a resurgence of national confidence. Liberals worldwide…should takenote. (send comments to WFC83197@aol.com)