Without sparing friends

Sarkozy got rid of the leaders of unsuccessful political projects

It is interesting not so much who came to the government headed by the same François Fillon, but who left. The ones who didn't agree very much, who tarnished their reputation, but also, and this is the main thing, the leaders of unsuccessful political projects, left. Even...

It is interesting not so much who came to the government headed by the same François Fillon, but who left. The ones who didn't agree very much, who tarnished their reputation, but also, and this is the main thing, the leaders of unsuccessful political projects, left. Even if launched and promoted by the president himself. Even his personal friends.

Sarkozy said goodbye to Bernard Kouchner, who, being a socialist and therefore a black sheep in the old cabinet, did not always share the president's views on human rights and moral aspects of foreign policy. They say that after winning the elections, Sarkozy offered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a “foreigner” with an eye to the relative electoral success of his rival, the socialist Segolene Royal. Technically, given Kushner's age, he received a very honorable pension.

The event was the departure of Eric Besson, along with his Ministry of National Identity. This portfolio was dissolved in the sphere of competence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. First, Besson was considered a like-minded person and friend of Sarkozy. Secondly, the euphemism “national identity” camouflaged the attitude towards immigrants, which has already acquired the name “Sarkozy doctrine”, or “Sarkozism”. Winning, from a populist point of view, tightening requirements for visitors actually brought less political dividends than image harm. The French are more tolerant of immigrants than the Élysée lodger thought. The last straw was the story of the Romanian gypsies, in which Paris had to grit its teeth and bow to the cry of Brussels. By dismissing Besson, the president will seek a new, acceptable for the French, balance between "persecute vzashey" and "respect the rights" of immigrants. True, sources in the Elysee Palace claim that there will be no change in policy and this is just a routine replacement of the minister.

Labor Minister Eric Werth has become an inconvenient figure and a heavy burden for the Sarkozy team in connection with the corruption scandal and the scandalous pension reform. Demonstrations against the recent law to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 are still rocking the country. But the French press believes that in fact this is Werth's payment for his involvement in the Betancourt case. A tax scandal involving him and L'Oreal cosmetics legend heiress Liliane Bettencourt escalated, with opposition demanding the minister's resignation and accusing the Sarkozy government of corruption, while the president himself insisted Werth was innocent. As a result, the head of state conceded to the opposition.

The new government became more homogeneous from the party point of view, the main role in it was assigned to the "old guard". François Fillon entered the narrow circle of French "long-lived" prime ministers. The second and third roles (Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs) went to Alain Juppe and Michel Alliot-Marie, who, in addition, received the mandates of state ministers - in fact, vice-premiers. They are considered political "heavyweights" and enjoy authority in political circles.

Juppe was a loyal assistant to Jacques Chirac, next to whom he began his political career in the mayor's office of Paris. On November 19, the new French defense minister will attend the NATO summit in Lisbon, where he will accompany the president, and, in particular, the NATO-Russia summit.

For the first time, the French Foreign Ministry was headed by a woman. Allio-Marie has led the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior in past years. She is no stranger to roles that have traditionally been considered masculine.