It was necessary to reassure the French people, and Nicolas Sarkozy did just that. Regardless of the reactions after the fact – two contradictory polls generally divide the French between positive and negative opinions – it is nonetheless clear that the 15 million viewers who watched this broadcast testify both to their deep concern and to placing their hopes in the policies of the Head of State. A smaller number of listeners would have indicated a clear disapproval, much like sociologists who consider respect for tax payment and electoral participation as two fundamental indicators of a population’s attachment to their political system. Another goal was achieved: by inviting social partners to a meeting on February 18, Nicolas Sarkozy aims to reintegrate them into the institutional game. A temporary respite for the presidential agenda.
However, the President of the Republic and the present journalists, particularly Alain Duhamel, from whom better was expected in this area, surprisingly overlooked the European and international dimension of the crisis. Yet, it is known that the resolution will not be national but global. A sign of the times, the Davos summit which recently gathered economists and bankers was snubbed by political leaders. Moreover, little came out of it. On the contrary, world leaders practically all showed up at the 45th edition of the “Wehrkunde,” an international security conference held annually since 1962 in Munich. They maintained a single discourse: that of a willingness for cooperation between States. Nicolas Sarkozy seems to have found there a space for action and proposals that are now lacking in France due to the crisis. Indeed, within the confines of the “Bayersicher Hof,” for example, the joint Franco-German initiative was unveiled, aimed at initiating a closer economic and financial consultation: the likely holding of a special European Council dedicated to the crisis. A subtle compromise between the French presidential wish for enhanced Eurogroup activism and the immutability of the independence of the European Central Bank defended by Angela Merkel. The Head of State also confirmed the upcoming reintegration of France into NATO’s military structures, even if it means having Paris sit on a secondary seat at the Nuclear Planning Group to maintain full and entire independence of national deterrence. The Franco-German tandem also announced the installation -not only symbolically significant- of a part of the Franco-German Brigade’s contingent near Strasbourg. These measures may not immediately provide work for recently laid-off employees, but they undeniably sketch a new approach, much more solidarity-based among world political leaders, with no country spared by the effects of the financial crisis. This “Munich” could well -fortunately- go down in history.
The question remains regarding cooperation with Russia. Between Joe Biden, the American Vice President who brought a message of openness from President Obama by calling to “redefine relations with Russia,” the German Chancellor in favor of a “genuine partnership with Moscow,” and the French President who “does not believe in the Russian military threat,” each had their say. However, the Kremlin’s latest actions are perplexing: the closure, under the pressure of Moscow and in exchange for a two-billion-dollar loan to the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, of the Manas base, crucial for the supply of food and equipment to the American -and French- troops engaged in Afghanistan, announcement of the establishment of Russian military bases in the two separatist republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia which the International community refuses to recognize following the August 2008 war -a “flagrant violation of the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia” according to the European Union-, explicit support to Iran, successful attempt by Gazprom to seize control of all gas transit through Kazakhstan thus literally and figuratively emptying the content of the Nabucco pipeline project revived by the Europeans. Not to mention the issue of human rights whose serious violations have just been bluntly denounced by Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, during his recent talks with Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin. If it truly contributes to solving the crisis, international cooperation with Russia currently resembles “wishful thinking.”
