Translated material
France brought Sarkozy under the monastery
The newly elected president wants privacy to “measure the seriousness of the task facing him”
No surprises. No matter how hard Ségolène Royal tried to prove that polls are one thing and voting is something completely different, no matter how hard she tried to mobilize her own electorate while making promises left and right (in every sense of these words), the results of the second round of the presidential election turned out to be ruthless towards the first woman in the history of France who had a chance to lead the country. Nicolas Sarkozy became president , winning the second round, according to preliminary data, with a result of 53.8:46.2% of the vote. Moreover, the French demonstrated a record turnout at polling stations.As a matter of fact, in the last days before the vote, Sarkozy had not the most difficult task: to maintain his gained advantage and bring it to victory. He was not allowed to lose his temper (this is probably why he avoided looking at his opponent during live televised debates). And when on Friday - the last day allowed for campaigning - the candidate of the left came very close to the limits of decency, hinting that the election of her opponent was fraught with new uprisings in the suburbs, the candidate of the right, who in a fatherly tone noted the undoubted merits of his rival, remarked that “politics should be based on respect, openness, tolerance, inclusion, outstretched hands and appeasement.”
Moreover, he made these statements not at a rally, but in the mountains of the Haute-Savoie department, on the Glières plateau, where in March 1944 the heroes of the French Resistance heroically fought against superior forces of invaders and collaborators.
The last election picture of Ms. Royal is a rally in Brest, where the enthusiasm of supporters and the smile of the “woman in white” are clearly discordant with the far from joyful expressions on the faces of the candidate’s escort.
The last propaganda shots of Mr. Sarkozy - he is alone, on a mountain forest road in a formal suit, going up to the heroes' memorial, already trying on the expression of the father of the nation.
The favorite's last appearance on the pre-election stage is staged in the smallest detail; his car, retinue, and security, of course, remain behind the scenes. He is alone with France, its history, its future.
He already understands that he has won, and even allows himself to share his plans for the near future. He will disappear from public life for some time, perhaps even hide in a monastery, in order to “realize and measure the seriousness of the task facing him.”
He is going to change France. As a matter of fact, his rival was also planning to change the country. But Mr. Sarkozy has conquered what is probably the main goal of the campaign. In the eyes of voters, he did not appear as a candidate of the outgoing regime. And this despite the fact that he was the Minister of Internal Affairs until recently. But the cunning Sarkozy had already started messing around with President Chirac and Premier de Villepin so long ago that he could not possibly look like their successor.
After that, he could well compete with Madame Royal in arguing that many things should be changed in the country. As a matter of fact, they were practically unanimous in their diagnosis of the state of France. But different types of therapy were offered. Mr. Sarkozy, naturally, is right-wing liberal, they say, we need to give people the opportunity to swim out on their own and, most importantly, not prevent them from doing this. Law and order do not at all contradict democracy. Madame Royal's recipes, of course, were more social-democratic and paternalistic in nature.
It is curious that the election campaign was conducted by both candidates as if France was fenced off from the world around it by at least an iron curtain. Topics such as terrorism, Europe, international security, not to mention relations with Russia, were completely ignored. The fact that France is not the only country on earth could only be understood from the topic of globalization that did not disappear from the debate, as well as from the attitude of the candidates to the distant prospect of Turkey’s admission (or not) to the EU. These topics, however, will probably not be ignored in the coming days, since the end of the presidential campaign does not at all mean the end of the election fever. In just over a month, on June 10 and 17, elections to the National Assembly will take place, and President Sarkozy will not be able to begin to implement his plans until he secures the support of a parliamentary majority. Given the emergence of a third force - the center led by Francois Bayrou - no one will bring it a majority on a silver platter.
And one last thing. No one today can claim to know what kind of president Mr Sarkozy will be. He is known to be extremely talented, brutal, and efficient. It is known that, like all talented politicians, he knows how to make the perfect cocktails, mixing known portions of philosophy and opportunism, pragmatism and cynicism, ambition and responsibility. Some call him a professional traitor, others Le Pen-lite, others judge him by his deeds and note that, for example, he succeeded in a seemingly impossible thing, namely: to force the French to refrain from speeding on the roads.
Much can be said and noticed about the new, sixth president of the Fifth Republic. But you should first of all understand that this emigrant son, who fought all his adult life for the right to become president of all French people and achieved this right, is capable of much.