/ 15 November 2010

Sarkozy keeps key figures in reshuffle

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reappointed a trusted ally as prime minister and named new defence and foreign ministers in a Sunday night reshuffle aimed at shoring up his position 18 months before a presidential poll.

Economy Minister Christine Lagarde, Budget Minister Francois Baroin and Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux were among proven heavyweights who kept their jobs. Baroin was also appointed government spokesperson, Sarkozy’s office said in a statement.

The new Cabinet, which puts old-school lynchpins of the ruling centre-right UMP party in charge of key ministries, is not expected to result in major policy shifts.

Defence Minister Herve Morin and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner were replaced by Alain Juppe, a former prime minister and protégé of former President Jacques Chirac, and Michele Alliot-Marie, justice minister in the last Cabinet.

Sarkozy said in June he would rejig his Cabinet after passing a flagship pension reform, which was signed into law last week, as he tries to rally his core support base, address voter gloom over the economy and improve his dismal ratings.

After dangling the idea of a shift to the centre by possibly making his Energy Minister Jean-Louis Borloo prime minister, Sarkozy ended up opting for traditional conservatives to man the new Cabinet, whose success will be key for his chances of re-election against a resurgent left in the 2012 election.

His choices may please conservative voters, but leave Sarkozy running the risk that centrists like Borloo and Morin could break away and run against him in 2012.

Juppe and Alliot-Marie were also named ministers of state, the highest government role below the prime minister. Labour Minister Eric Woerth, linked to a political funding scandal involving France’s richest woman, was dropped from the cabinet.

Back to basics
Fillon, who has proved a steady and capable aide to Sarkozy and has much higher popularity ratings, said after his reappointment that he would focus on jobs and the economy.

He said in a statement that he was starting “a new phase with determination which will allow our country to strengthen the growth of the economy to help jobs, promote solidarity and safeguard the security of all French people”.

Notably, Fillon is seen as well-qualified to run national affairs while Sarkozy focuses on an ambitious reform of the global monetary system as part of his plans for France’s presidency of the Group of 20 major economies.

Among other minor switches, Eric Besson, a former Socialist, was moved to be head of the industry, energy and digital economy minister from his former post as immigration minister.

Opposition Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry criticised the new Cabinet, saying the president had failed to understand that the French people were impatient for political change.

“The president has brought back the same prime minister to carry on the same politics,” Aubry said in a statement.

“Mr Sarkozy announced this reshuffle six months ago. Since then, the ministers have been more interested in the future of their posts than the future of the French people,” she said.

Sarkozy, just back from a G20 summit in Seoul, has emerged victorious from a months-long battle with unions over pension reform but remains deeply unpopular, with approval ratings below 30%, in contrast with Fillon who got a positive rating from 47% of respondents in a Viavoice poll on Sunday.

He hopes to claw his way out of the doldrums with figures like Juppe, who remains popular with conservatives despite a fall from grace in 2004 over a party financing scandal.

After a brief flurry of speculation among commentators that Fillon might be replaced, it became clear in recent days that Sarkozy would reappoint the man behind the campaign that swept him to power more than three years ago. – Reuters