I’m not sure I completely share James’s enthusiasm for the Sarkozy victory. Is it better for the United States than a Royal victory? Probably. Only time will tell if it’s better either for us or for France.
I do recommend caution in trying to translate French politics into the American political spectrum. M. Sarkozy is probably more favorably disposed to state action than nearly any mainstream American politician.
I doubt that he’s a fascist, as some bloggers on this side of the Pond have suggested, but he has mainstreamed the anti-immigrant rhetoric of Jean-Marie Le Pen somewhat which accounts for Le Pen’s lowered results and the translation of his support to Sarkozy. I’m concerned that this is not a particularly positive development.
Still, let’s be cautiously optimistic.
