Main focus of Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Corruption affair threatens Sarkozy

According to media reports French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other conservative politicians have received bribes from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. The affair is seriously jeopardising Sarkozy's re-election prospects and disabling the already crisis-ridden Europe, commentators write.

Financial Times Deutschland - Germany

The corruption affair in which French President Nicolas Sarkozy is implicated is endangering the planned French pension reform and weakening the Franco-German axis, notes the liberal business daily Financial Times Deutschland: "Sarkozy's chances for re-election have dwindled to zero because his last hopes were pinned on successfully reforming the pension system, a move that was to cast him once more in the role of the courageous, reform-minded president. Now he can pretty much forget about his plans for the reform because it was supposed to be carried out by Labour Minister Éric Woerth, who is said to have received the 150,000 euros from the heir to the L'Oréal cosmetics company. The EU will consequently have a hard time building on the German-French axis in the time to come. Both countries will be paralysed politically for the foreseeable future. That not only raises the spectre of the right-wing populists gaining in strength. It also dashes any hopes that Europe will come up with any meaningful ideas for a more crisis-proof global economy." (07/07/2010)

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Der Standard - Austria

The corruption affair is symptomatic of the way President Nicolas Sarkozy leads his country, writes the daily Der Standard: "This affair has exposed the full extent of the double standards - not to say duplicity - of Sarkozy's term in office. ... What riles the French the most is his high-and-mighty way of coming across as Mr Clean. Just a few weeks ago he called for an 'irreproachable republic', saying that he would 'not tolerate the slightest slip-up on the part of his government'. At the same time he harbours a minister (André Santini) who has long stood accused of embezzlement, and he refuses to part with another (Éric Woerth) although at the very least he is involved in an extreme conflict of interests. And now the president is widely suspected of receiving illegal funds for his own election campaign. All of this fits in very well with his style of governing, known as 'bling-bling' (flashy), his intermingling of personal and collective interests and his unkept promises." (07/07/2010)

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Libération - France

An unsparing search for the truth is the only thing that can help the struggling French government in the midst of allegations of corruption against President Nicolas Sarkozy, writes the daily Libération: "Neither high-minded denial nor superficial government shuffles will help matters in the least. ... This affair raises very serious, very embarrassing questions. Did the fortune of the Bettencourt family help to illegally finance an election campaign? Did it serve to further the career of this or that right-wing leader? What exactly is the family's tax situation? Has it been the subject of illegal aid on the part of the state apparatus? The public has a right to clear and rapid answers to these four questions at least. The only way to dispel the dangers created by this affair ... is to answer them in a speedy, transparent manner." (07/07/2010)

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De Tijd - Belgium

Not only President Nicolas Sarkozy but the entire leading political circles in Germany, Spain and Italy are under domestic pressure, writes business paper De Tijd, with repercussions for Europe: "We are forced to realise that the leaders of Europe's four major member states are in one way or another politically compromised - precisely at a time when their countries need strong leadership. ... For Europe its weakened political leaders are not good news. The European Union is facing great challenges that require resolute protagonists who dare to make decisions. But what it has is weakened leaders who are having to deal with the problems of their own countries to limit the political damage there. In this way the financial crisis is causing not just economic damage but also serious political damage." (07/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Germany, » France, » Italy, » Spain, » Europe
All available articles from » Jean Vanempten

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