'Ich bin ein Alsacien'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave an hour-long interview to eight television stations on 29 January, in which he explained his intentions for the last couple of months of his mandate. This as new elections are looming, and president Sarkozy, to the surprise of many, is still not candidate Sarkozy.
But by not declaring himself candidate, he has till mid-March, he can portray himself as the self-sacrificing president, working 24/7 for the benefit of the French people without even taking a second off to play the other role he has, that of the father of a young child born only a couple of months ago. It is obvious, though, that 2 seconds after he declares himself a candidate in the coming weeks, he will miraculously also find time for the role of father; a role that photographs in Paris Match, and all those other glossy magazines, prove what a politically important duty that is, certainly when the elections are but weeks away.
Still, at present he is president, and that is all he is. In his ‘blood, sweat and tears’ mode of late, he explained to the (granted, very docile) interviewers that he could not afford not to be president, as France is in need of a maximum effort to not only keep its economy afloat, but preferably make it more competitive.
And more competitive in comparison to whom, one might ask? Well, it is clear that the few dozen references he made to his eastern neighbour, that it was that country is the inspiration; and also, no doubt, the competitor he has in mind. And just for those that are geographically apt, but perhaps politically less so, it is Germany he was talking about.
And, true enough, unemployment in Germany is half of that in France, the German debt - in percentage of GNP - is lower than that of of France, and the French that are in a job work a lot less hours per year than their German counterparts. So on paper it seems a good example to follow.
However, it could be argued if becoming more like Germans is really a catchy election platform - 'Français et Françaises, la sixième République sera la 17ème Bundesland,' it does not look like a slogan that will go down well.
Somehow, being the 17th of something seems difficult to swallow for the French, whose country after all, as the president said a few times during the interview, is the fifth power in the world, although I am not quite sure what the yardstick is here. UN veto? Force de frappe? The only thing that comes near to being 17th, is the 15th place France holds in the FIFA-ranking of national football teams. But I do not think the French want to be reminded of this, so I would not make it the cornerstone of my election campaign. And, yes, candidate Sarkozy will not do this, rest assured, as he has to fight off the Front National.
But all French do not have to become slightly obese beer drinkers and sausage eaters. Some have been there and back. Why not look at a part of the country that has experienced a few times over the past 150 years (unwillingly, but still) the competitive drive that president Sarkozy was aiming at: a French region becoming more, indeed even complete, German: Alsace.
Alsace has experience with this. And it has kept the best of both countries, instead of tilting towards one or the other. In fact, Alsace is the playground of European integration, and it could be argued that without its sometimes tragic history, there would not be a European Union to speak of. The founding fathers of the EU took its fate at heart when they worked hard to organise things in Europe in such a way that Alsace - or any other region for that matter - could not change allegiance by mere brutal military force. And hurray, it worked.
Wouldn't it be a good idea to make Alsace the first European region, the District of Europe, so to speak? By nominating it thus, we could kill a few birds with one stone. All European institutions could move to Strasbourg and Colmar, thus ending the monthly back-and-forth move by the European Parliament from Brussels, a move that gives the parliament nothing but bad publicity, despite the parliament itself asking for decades now to be where the power is, i.e. next to the European Commission and Council.
It could at the same time be another blessing in disguise in that we could finally get rid of the obligatory champagne at festivities and drink decent non-acid beautiful Pinot Gris instead. I am packing my bags as we speak.
Comments