Berlin hopes Sarkozy wins

"If Angela Merkel wanted the first round of the French elections to produce a clear result in view of her hopes for the EU constitution, she must be disappointed," writes Radek Honzak. "The two successful candidates have more or less equal chances of winning; however their views on the EU constitution couldn't be more different... Berlin and Brussels are crossing their fingers for Sarkozy. His stance on the constitution comes closer to Merkel's - he wants most of the text to be retained and put into effect without a referendum. A victory for Royal would hinder an agreement. On Sunday she once again stressed that the constitution would have to contain a social charter, that a new convention would be necessary and that the resulting text would have to be put to referendum in France. This would be a setback for the German EU Council presidency, which hopes to save the constitution."

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