Rise of Sarkozy Marks Change in

 

By Roger Wilkison

Popular former French finance and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has taken over the leadership of his country's conservative ruling party in a move that could change the face of French politics. Mr. Sarkozy makes no secret of his ambition to succeed his onetime mentor¹ President Jacques Chirac, and seeks to portray² himself as a new kind of French conservative.

Jacques Chirac, who turned 72-years old this week, has been in politics for nearly four decades and, in his nearly 10 years as president, has come to personify France.

His independent foreign policy, based on projecting a French-led European Union as a counterweight to the United States, has irritated the Bush administration, but generally gained the backing of his fellow citizens.

Although he is a conservative, he has done little to loosen the government's traditionally heavy hand on the economy, despite high unemployment and indications that in the future the French will be paying a lot more for their excellent schools, high-speed trains, and nuclear-power plants.

Nicolas Sarkozy, represents another France, a France that, in his words, cannot remain immobile. He says he wants France to become a country in which hard work and achievement are rewarded, in which new wealth is created to keep financing the welfare state. And he wants France to reach out to its immigrants, especially young Muslims alienated³ by a society that does not wholly accept them.

The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Mr. Sarkozy was once a protégé of Mr. Chirac, but fell out with his mentor when he backed a Chirac rival for the presidency⁴ in 1995. After several years as a political outsider he was named interior minister, a post from which he launched a high-profile crackdown on crime that garnered⁵ him widespread public support. He was then moved to the finance ministry⁶, where his popularity rose further after he negotiated price cuts at supermarket chains.

Though the conservative government has lost heavily in regional and European elections, Mr. Sarkozy remains⁷ popular. Professor Stefan Collignon of the London School of Economics' European Institute describes him as a new kind of French politician.

"Sarkozy has developed the skill of playing with the media, playing to public opinion," he says. "Quite often, his policies are even contradictory⁸, not necessarily coherent. But he is talking to different groups by saying what they want to hear, so, in many ways he is much more a presidential candidate, as in the United States, than a traditional French politician."

Mr. Sarkozy has confessed to harboring presidential ambitions, and even though neither he nor President Chirac have said whether they will run in the 2007 election, professor Collignon says Mr. Sarkozy has already gained a power base as head of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement.

"Actually, the best post, in order to win the presidential election, is not to be prime minister, but actually to be free of that and, as a party leader, Sarkozy has now exactly that position," he adds.

As President Chirac looks over his shoulder at his younger, more dynamic rival, Mr. Sarkozy promises to reconnect a disillusioned⁹ electorate¹⁰ with the political process. The political editor of France's LCI television network, Anita Hauser, says Mr. Sarkozy is especially popular among the young.

"He is very convincing. When he talks with you, he convinces you," she notes. "That is his talent. That is why people believe in him."

Despite being a member of the same party as Mr. Chirac, Mr. Sarkozy has said he will speak his mind on issues on which he and the president disagree.
Mr. Chirac wants the European Union to open accession negotiations¹¹ with Turkey, despite widespread opposition¹² in France to Turkish membership of the bloc¹³. Mr. Sarkozy, speaking at his lavish¹⁴ inauguration¹⁵ ceremony Sunday, took a different approach.

He says the European Union, which he describes as the most important political project of the second half of the 20th Century, cannot continue to expand indefinitely. He says that is why he wants Turkey to be associated with Europe, but not integrated into the European Union.

Mr. Sarkozy says France should remain a prime force in developing the European Union as a political entity¹⁶ and not just a free-trade area. In that regard he agrees with Mr. Chirac.

As Mr. Sarkozy prepares to challenge Mr. Chirac for the leadership of the French right, the French left is also divided.

On Wednesday, French Socialists¹⁷ are to vote on whether to back their deputy leader, Laurent Fabius, in rejecting the European Constitution in a referendum next year. If they do, their party could be torn in two and France might even vote against the constitution. Mr. Fabius, like Mr. Sarkozy, has tapped into rising popular sentiment that an enlarged Europe is drifting out of France's grasp.

Roger Wilkison, VOA news, Brussels.

注释：
conservative 保守的
personify 象征
counterweight 平衡力
immobile 稳定
alienate 疏远
presidency 总统职位
popularity 声望
contradictory 矛盾
coherent 一致的
confess 声称，承认
dynamic 精力充沛的
disillusion 使幻想破灭
electorate 选民
convincing 令人信服的
bloc 行动一致的集团、政党
lavish 慷慨的
inauguration 就职典礼
sentiment 情操, 情感

 

1 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

2 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

3 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

9 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

10 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

14 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

15 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

16 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

17 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。