The Truth About Sarkozy: Parts 12, 13, 14, and 15

Note from Sunday, August 12, 2007:

On a whim, I hit the "drafts" link in my Blogger edit window and discovered that I never finished translating that French article on "The Truth About Sarkozy." Now that Sarko has been president for a few months, it might be nice to revisit this article (the sections I had previously translated are here [1], here [2], here [3], here [4], and here [5]). What follows is my translation of the final cluster of sections in that article. Sorry for the wait.

You might also be interested in some commentary I saw just today. First up is an article about whether Sarkozy's globe-trotting style is a plus or a minus. Next up is a WaPo editorial about the lessons George Bush might take from Sarkozy's leadership qualities. Read these articles and then see whether they fit the predictions and analyses of the translated French article, which was written pre-election.

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Comme Chirac, Sarkozy promet beaucoup mais ne fera rien: joker

Pendant la campagne, il a oscillé entre plusieurs attitudes. La distribution tous azimuts de promesses, qui a fait toussoter les élus spécialistes des questions financières autour de lui; les engagements précis qu'il se dit certain de pouvoir tenir. Son score du premier tour - une petite humiliation a posteriori pour le président sortant - lui donnera peut-être, s'il est élu, les coudées plus franches pour appliquer ses réformes. Chirac voyait en premier la fragilité de la société française, Sarkozy mise d'abord sur sa capacité de mouvement. Mais, quand on sait qu'il était près de revenir sur sa proposition controversée de «ministère de l'Immigration et de l'Identité nationale» avant de la maintenir devant de bons sondages, on se dit qu'il évoluera forcément sur d'autres sujets, quitte à se renier.

Like Chirac, Sarkozy promises much but will do nothing: JOKER (i.e., wild card)

During the campaign, Sarkozy has oscillated among several attitudes. He hands out promises in all directions, which makes his financial specialists cough politely; these are the very promises he claims to be certain of keeping. His poll numbers for the first election round-- a minor humiliation for the outgoing president-- will perhaps give him, if he is elected, more clout to enact his reforms. Chirac was ever mindful of the fragility of French society; Sarkozy relies on his capacity for action. But when one realizes that he was close to going back on his controversial statement about "Minister of Immigration and National Identity" before vetting it in the polls, one thinks he will necessarily evolve on other matters, [even] at the risk of reversing himself.

Sarkozy dresse les Français les uns contre les autres: vrai

C'est le prix à payer pour une stratégie qui refuse le consensus mou. Nicolas Sarkozy est un candidat qui fabrique du clivage. Il peut s'en féliciter, puisque les électeurs qui votent pour lui adhèrent vraiment à son projet, quand ceux qui privilégient Ségolène Royal le font, pour un certain nombre d'entre eux, d'abord par rejet de son adversaire. Il doit s'en méfier, parce qu'il suscite des hostilités fortes. Fonctionnaires contre salariés du privé, France rurale contre banlieues, etc.: s'il promet d'être un président qui saura rassembler, il a mené jusqu'au premier tour une campagne qui voulait amener chacun à se positionner. Son langage illustre sa stratégie. «Il est recommandé qu'un président de la République se fasse comprendre des citoyens qu'il entend représenter», a-t-il prévenu.

Sarkozy pits the French against each other: TRUE

It is the price one pays for a strategy that rejects soft consensus. Nicolas Sarkozy is a divisive candidate. He can congratulate himself on this point, because those who vote for him are true adherents to his project, whereas a certain number of people voting for Ségolène Royal are doing so merely to reject her opponent. Sarkozy should be cautious because he generates strong hostility. Government functionaries versus private workers, rural France versus the projects, etc.: although he has promised to be a president who unites, he has led, up to the first election round, a campaign that seeks to make each voter take a [specific] stand. His language illustrates his strategy. "It is recommended that a president of the Republic should make himself understood to the citizens he represents," he warned.

Sarkozy est complexé par sa taille: vrai

Enfant, il se bagarrait avec Guillaume, son frère aîné, nettement plus grand que lui, qui se moquait régulièrement de sa taille. Toute plaisanterie sur ce point était interdite: ses amis de jeunesse savaient le sujet tabou. Il l'est resté. Alors que son conseiller de presse fournit généralement une réponse précise quelle que soit la question, savoir combien mesure Nicolas Sarkozy relève du secret d'Etat. «Un peu moins de 1,70 mètre», est la réponse officielle, mais sans doute fausse - il est plus près de 1,60 mètre.

Sarkozy has a complex about his height: TRUE

As a child, Sarkozy fought with Guillaume, his older brother, who was substantially larger than he was and who regularly mocked him about his height. All jokes on this point have been forbidden: his childhood friends understood the subject was taboo. It still is. While his spokesman to the press generally gives precise answers no matter the question, knowing how tall Sarkozy is borders on a state secret. "A bit less than 1.7 meters," is the official response, doubtless untrue: he is closer to 1.6 meters tall.

Sarko est facho: faux

Il y eut l'époque du «Chirac facho», une expression qui a vraiment vieilli... Au-delà de la qualification historiquement grotesque, l'expression ne colle pas davantage au candidat de l'UMP qu'elle ne convenait à celui du RPR. Nicolas Sarkozy a cherché non pas à pactiser avec Jean-Marie Le Pen, mais à lui dérober ses électeurs. Et le seul moyen de faire baisser le score du Front national est de convaincre ceux qui votent pour lui... de choisir quelqu'un d'autre! Tout est ensuite affaire d'appréciation: à chacun de voir jusqu'où il est possible d'aller dans la récupération sans bousculer trop les valeurs républicaines. Sans doute le choix du «ministère de l'Immigration et de l'Identité nationale» relevait-il plus du réflexe d'un candidat que de la réflexion d'un homme d'Etat - même Max Gallo ou Alain Finkielkraut ont regretté pareille appellation, alors qu'ils sont pleinement favorables au débat sur l'identité nationale.

Sarko is a fascist: FALSE

There was a "Chirac the fascist" era, an expression that has truly gone stale... the historical grotesqueness of the label aside, the expression applies no better to the UMP candidate than it did to the RPR candidate. Nicolas Sarkozy has sought not to make a pact with Jean-Marie Le Pen [noted for his racism and his slogan "La France pour les Français"-- "France for the French!"], but to usurp his voters. And the only way to lower the poll numbers of the National Front [Le Pen's party] is to convince Le Pen's voters... to choose someone else! After that, it's a matter of calculation: each must see how far it is possible to go in the polls without sacrificing too many republican values. Without a doubt, Sarkozy's billing himself "the Minister of Immigration and National Identity" arises more from a candidate's reflexes than from the reflections of a statesman*-- even Max Gallo and Alain Finkielkraut were discomfited by the same moniker despite being wholly in favor of a debate about the national identity.

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*This locution was a bit difficult to translate directly, so I've taken liberties. It literally says: Without a doubt, the choice of the "Minister of Immigration and National Identity" arises more from a candidate's reflexes than from the reflections of a statesman. When translated into English this way, the meaning seems vague. The choice comes from the reflexes of a candidate? Huh?

Hence the liberties I took.


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