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Originally posted by kmax87It seems he was, though, very much so--castle and all...Given his background, I can see how pinko sentiments might raise a red flag for him... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy
He just strikes me as someone who would sweat pragmatism under pressure. More a professional than one to the manor born.
Originally posted by Bosse de NageMy impression of him was influenced by a NYT comment that he had not graduated from one of the more exclusive universities and as such I just assumed without any further investigation that he may not have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and that he may have had a slightly higher gradient to climb in reaching his position. Non?
It seems he was, though, very much so--castle and all...Given his background, I can see how pinko sentiments might raise a red flag for him... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy
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Originally posted by kmax87He's not an enarque so I'd agree with you. He seems to have uncommon drive...
My impression of him was influenced by a NYT comment that he had not graduated from one of the more exclusive universities and as such I just assumed without any further investigation that he may not have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and that he may have had a slightly higher gradient to climb in reaching his position. Non?
"Sarkozy's political career began at the age of 22, when he became a city councillor in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a wealthy and exclusive western suburb of Paris (in the Hauts-de-Seine département). A member of the Neo-Gaullist party RPR, he went on to be elected mayor of that town, after the death of the incumbent mayor Achille Peretti. Sarkozy had been close to Peretti, as his mother was Peretti's secretary. The senior RPR politician in the time, Charles Pasqua, wanted to become mayor, and asked Sarkozy to organise his campaign. Instead Sarkozy profited from a short illness of Pasqua to propel himself into the office of mayor.[7] He was the youngest ever mayor of any town in France with a population of over 50,000. "
Edit_Le Monde is speculating about a "New Right"...haven't read enough to comment, but the similarity with Blair is there...at a stretch.
After passing the bar exam, he became a lawyer specializing in French business law and family law, skills which he would later put to use in divorcing his first wife and helping his mother take legal action against his father in order to raise alimony
Is it just me or this paragraph is deliciously diabolical? 😉
Originally posted by PalynkaSarkozy is going to get things fixed -- that's why the majority of frogs voted for him. According to today's Washington Times:
That Sarkozy's economic program has more holes than the local fromage.
France's unemployment rate hasn't fallen below 8 percent in a quarter century. During that period, France's per capita gross domestic product declined from seventh in the world to 17th. In none of the last five years has the French economy grown as fast as the average rate for the 30 industrial economies that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Its economic growth rate during 2006 was the slowest of any nation in the European Union except Portugal. As a share of labor costs, taxes on the average French worker exceed 50 percent. What little progress France has achieved over the past decade has been financed by raising the nation's public debt faster than any other country in Western Europe.
As bad as this situation is, 47 percent of the French electorate actually attempted to make it far worse by voting on Sunday for the statist agenda (government-subsidized employment and big hikes in unemployment benefits, the minimum wage, public pensions, disability payments, housing allowances, etc.) of the Socialist presidential candidate. Her policies would have raised public spending well above its current growth-stunting level of nearly 55 percent. Fortunately for France, 53 percent of the electorate voted for Nicolas Sarkozy, the center-right candidate whose economic agenda seeks to change some of the worst features of the French economy. (He wants to change some, but by no means all of them.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070509-085430-9181r.htm
Originally posted by der schwarze RitterIf you could speak French you'd hear why Sarkozy's program will lead to heavy government indebtness and hurt France's long-run growth.
Sarkozy is going to get things fixed -- that's why the majority of frogs voted for him. According to today's Washington Times:
France's unemployment rate hasn't fallen below 8 percent in a quarter century. During that period, France's per capita gross domestic product declined from seventh in the world to 17th. In none of the last five years ...[text shortened]... no means all of them.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070509-085430-9181r.htm
Alternatively, you can read the Washington Times and have a completely biased view that uses all the anti-left cliches without actually looking at the proposals.
Originally posted by Palynkai thot that was Swiss cheese (Emmenthaler), not French. Does French cheese have holes?
No.
You have to remind yourself that the local cheese has a substantial amount of holes.
here is a good book if you like cheese (altho my copy is from the 70's, i think): "The World of Cheese", by Evan Jones.
Originally posted by zeeblebotTrue, but my feeble attempts at a joke wouldn't work if I stuck to reality...
i thot that was Swiss cheese (Emmenthaler), not French. Does French cheese have holes?
here is a good book if you like cheese (altho my copy is from the 70's, i think): "The World of Cheese", by Evan Jones.