Nicolas Sarkozy: A Grand Entrance

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DOMINIQUE MOÏSI SENIOR ADVISER TO THE FRENCH INSTITTUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

President Nicolas Sarkozy's frenetic launching period has been globally positive, though the operative word is "globally." From Libya to Brussels by way of reforms at home, the relentless Sarkozy has given people the feeling France has finally awakened from a long sleep to become a vibrant, enthusiastic "new France." But now we're starting to see what I'd call a Hitchcockian "shadow of doubt": the public has started asking how much lasting result all this action is producing.

Virtually no one challenges the idea that Sarkozy has proved himself the most gifted and dynamic politician in France today. His initial presidential record has shown him to be a tireless leader who personally shapes policy on all fronts. But when you look at his accomplishments so far, you have to wonder whether his political genius may have overshadowed his effectiveness as a statesman: the solutions he is quick to offer often reflect the very problems they are meant to address.

That paradox is evident in foreign affairs. Sarkozy has declared European issues to be among his main diplomatic priorities, but he has approached them with nationalistic designs. Sarkozy played a central role in getting E.U. leaders to accept a simplified treaty in the place of a new constitution, for example, yet he has continually criticized the European Central Bank — and attacked its president, Jean-Claude Trichet — for not shaping policy to French economic considerations. Similarly, just how good a European was Sarkozy being when he preempted years of effort by Brussels to secure the freedom of Bulgarian medics held by Libya in order to cut a deal of his own with Tripoli? Sarkozy did a marvelous job restoring relations between Paris and Washington, but were the military and nuclear deals France signed with Libya really in the best interests of the Atlantic alliance?

At home, Sarkozy often says he wants to give greater freedom to markets, but his actions show he's no economic liberal at heart. The merger of Gaz de France and Suez is the perfect example of an interventionist state influencing companies and the market. Politically, Sarkozy has shown true genius in undermining the Socialist Party by attracting some of its leading lights to his team. But is mere political calculation also behind his backing of Socialist Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the International Monetary Fund? Sarkozy's motives are often open to question — and differ from his stated objective.

For those reasons, Sarkozy will need to reconcile his words and acts if he wants his next three months to be as successful as his first three. He'll also need to place less emphasis on grand movements across a broad spectrum and more on nailing down clear, lasting results.

MARIELLE DE SARNEZ EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRIST UNION FOR FRENCH DEMOCRACY

Sarkozy's early days have succeeded in one important area: after years of passivity and even absence of leadership under former President Jacques Chirac, Sarkozy recognized that France needed a new leader who would put himself and the nation back on center stage. Beyond that, Sarkozy's record is far less brilliant than obsequious French media have suggested, and the coming season promises to be more complicated.

Few among the public and pundits struck by Sarkozy's omnipresence have stopped to look seriously at what all his activity has produced. Those who do see tax reform that will cost France $20 billion annually as of 2008, but will do nothing to stimulate stalled economic growth. For all his kinetics, Sarkozy has done nothing to reverse France's trade deficit or halt its growing debt; the small dip in the unemployment rate in recent months has masked the shrinking number of new jobs companies created. Sarkozy sends a terrible message to our European partners by refusing to undertake economic reform at home or to abide by the rules we expect all other euro-zone nations to respect. Sooner or later, Sarkozy will have to tighten the belt or pay heavy consequences.