April 12, 2007

Sarkozy Denies Chirac Deal

Nicolas Sarkozy leads the field for the first round of voting for the presidency of France, but the current Elysee occupant presents him with a problem. The endorsement of Jacques Chirac has fueled speculation that Sarkozy agreed to protect the incumbent from a prosecution that has waited for his term of office to end. Sarkozy denied that he has cut that deal:

Nicolas Sarkozy, the favourite to become France's new president, denied allegations yesterday that he had struck a deal with the outgoing president, Jacques Chirac, to protect him from prosecution in return for his support.

After weeks of speculation, a report in the Paris-based satirical magazine Le Canard Enchaîné claimed that Mr Sarkozy agreed to help Mr Chirac, so long as he backed him as his successor.

Mr Chirac, who became president in 1995, has been linked with a number of scandals, but presidential immunity has protected him throughout his two terms.

Quoting sources close to the president, the weekly magazine alleged that "in exchange for Chirac's support for his candidacy, Sarkozy made a commitment, if he wins, to avoid any judicial backlash for Chirac".

This sounds like the rumored deal between Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon. The principals all denied that any deal had been struck, but after Nixon appointed Ford and resigned, Ford granted Nixon the full pardon that put him outside the reach of law enforcement and Congress. It probably ended Ford's political career, although the WIN buttons and denying that Poland was a Soviet vassal state didn't help, either.

Sarkozy's supposed deal has more subtlety to it. According to sources, Sarkozy will introduce a statute of limitations on corruption cases. The potential charges Chirac faces all date back to 1995 and before, and such a limit would exclude Chirac from any prosecution after he leaves office. That caused two of Sarkozy's opponents to pledge not to interfere with the investigations into Chirac, directly or indirectly, if elected president. Sarkozy strongly denied the report of the deal, but so far has not joined the centrist and the Socialist candidates in the pledge.

In general, these rumors usually turn out to be generated by political opponents and have little foundation. However, as an associate of Chirac, Sarkozy may need to get a little more explicit about his intentions towards the investigation of his fellow UMP leader.

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Comments (5)

Posted by George [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 11, 2007 9:59 PM

Corrupt deals by the French? You must be kidding. You act like this is a country that would give an Olympic gold medal for a flawed performance in an ice skating competition over a perfectly executed performance. How can you speak of the French this way?

Posted by Chimpy [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 11, 2007 10:32 PM

Whip Inflation Now
Thanks for the memories Ed.

Posted by Carol_Herman [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 11, 2007 11:16 PM

Let me see if I understand this gambit.

Chirac probably hates Sarkosy, where saracasm and cosy join. Because Sarkosy is gonna get to be prime minister. And, Chirac can drop dead.

So Chirac, in an act the media calls "benevolence," comes out and "supports" the man who is his rival. Hmm.

And, the accusation is that Chirac won't go to jail. Sorry, folks. But Chirac has been "in charge of the files." He'll go to jail when Hillary goes to jail.

In other words? What are 400 FBI files worth?

And, in france, what's something that would finally put Chirac in the dock?

There's a strange story that Steven Spielberg got to meet him. You'd think for the usual "photo-op." But you'd be WRONG! Chirac TOLD Spielberg to fire the actress he had hired for his film; and use his daughter's girlfriend, instead.

In other words? Chirac is always on the make. Only people who fall for it deserve to go to the cleaners.

As to Chirac giving his support to the lady, instead, how rediculous.

But it's a cute trick to notice how stories get spun.

First, you take a lie that smells bad. And, then you hand out clothespins. Sure, you can get people to hang these clips from their noses! Remember, it smells bad.

It's been such a long, long time since I've believed these front page stories, I no longer have any idea how newspapers peddle headlines. It's not like they're tellling me anything new.

Posted by sam pender [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 12, 2007 6:51 AM

Ahhh Chirac.

Anyone ever read the ISG report that details France's corruption and subversion of diplomacy in the runup to war with Saddam? No blood for oil, but that's exactly what Chirac and his cronies did. They bought oil, sold their votes, and made the war unavoidable via diplomacy. Blood for oil.

Oh, but they're our allies?

Anyone read The Greatest Threat by Richard Butler? He was head of UNSCOM's WMD inspections of Iraq, and years before the invasion, before 911, and before W was even a candidate, Butler details how the French and Russians were paid off by Saddam-effectively making war inevitable. Ironically, Scott Ritter's book, Endgame does the same.

How about failed Presidential candidate Gen Wes Clark's books? Yep, in his first, Waging Modern War, he describes how the French almost made the 1999 Kosovo War an indefinite affair, almost lost it diplomatically, and came close to started a US/Russia war. Why? Read the book. Direct phone call action from Chirac to Clark re bombing bridges, taking airfields, and more.

The French.

Regime change there seems to be the real key to world peace-or at least a step closer

Posted by das411 [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 12, 2007 11:46 PM

CE, I would hardly say he ended his political career when just a few thousand votes in '76 would have (re-) elected Ford President...

re: the French, anything that helps get Sarko instead of Sego elected is fine by me!