Sarkozy 'paid a high price'

2008-04-24 14:07

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to defend his reform record in a prime-time television interview on Thursday, hoping to claw back popularity after a tumultuous first year in office.

Swept to power last May on a promise to kickstart the economy, Sarkozy has seen his popularity collapse in the polls faster than any president since World War II, as survey after survey shows voters are disappointed by his performance.

Only 28% of the French believe Sarkozy's presidency is going in the right direction, according to two polls by CSA and IFOP, while a separate survey showed 79% feel their lives have not improved in the past year.

The 53-year-old president paid a high political price for his divorce and celebrity romance with former supermodel Carla Bruni, France's new first lady, which jarred with the gloomy economic mood taking hold in the country.

As Sarkozy fights to seize back momentum, the 90-minute live question-and-answer session with five journalists is being billed as a key opportunity for him to turn the tide of public opinion.

The president cleared much of his diary this week to prepare for the interview which will be aired on three major television networks at 18:15 GMT.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who has enjoyed a recent boost in popularity, said he expected Sarkozy to give new direction to reforms, echoing complaints from within the ruling party that the government had failed to properly explain its goals.

Road map

"I am expecting a road map for the coming weeks and months, that will reaffirm our goals on the reforms that are needed," Fillon said.

"We committed a mistake by presenting all of the reforms at the same time and making people believe that everything was possible right away," said Francois Goulard, a deputy from Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party.

"We had to launch a certain number of reforms but at the same time say that they will take time," said Goulard.

The slowing economy has significantly reduced Sarkozy's room to manoeuvre as he seeks to bring in sweeping economic and social reforms.

In poll after poll, the French have listed spending power as their number one concern, replacing unemployment which had been the nation's economic obsession for decades.

As French consumers feel the sting from inflation rates at their highest level since the 1990s, the Socialists accuse the government of bringing in austerity measures, with a plan to trim seven billion euros off the public deficit.

'France today is insecure'

High school students have staged three weeks of protests against plans to cut 11 200 education jobs, part of a drive to streamline the public service by not replacing some retiring staff, while dockers have shut down France's main terminals in protest at privatisation plans.

Socialist Segolene Royal, who lost to Sarkozy in the election, described the president's first year in office as a "failure" and a "lost year for France".

"When a country loses confidence in itself, it's dangerous. France today is insecure," said Royal.

Adding to his woes, the president is confronted with public bickering among ministers, and grumbling from right-wing deputies who blamed him for the UMP's poor showing in local elections last month.

Sarkozy has changed his style, from the whirlwind "hyperactive" presidency of the early days to the more staid, statesmanlike image that he is now projecting.

But his troubles have continued to pile up, with his popularity ratings stubbornly stuck below the 40% mark.

- AFP