Obama: Losing Appeal with French President?

The Financial Times reported December 27 that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is somewhat less than enthusiastic about his relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama.

The Times says, "Nicolas Sarkozy, the most pro-American president of France for half a century, has gone cold on Barack Obama, the most popular American leader in France in generations. A year ago Mr Sarkozy was engaged in a tussle among European leaders anxious to be the first to secure a meeting with the freshly elected Mr Obama. Mr Sarkozy described Mr Obama as 'my friend' after meeting him just once as a senator. But the French president has since clashed with his US counterpart on a series of issues, raising the question of whether Mr Sarkozy is reverting to the more Gaullist, anti-American posture of his predecessor, Jacques Chirac."

There's no question that Sarkozy has been a breath of fresh air for relations between the United States and France. Sarkozy enjoyed a strong relationship with President George W. Bush, warming relations between the two countries more than at any point since the end of World War II. Sarkozy represents the polar opposite, when it comes to relations with the United States, of former French president Jacques Chirac.

Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, a spokesman for France's opposition Socialist Party, is quoted as saying, "He has now shifted from a pro-Bush position to an anti-Obama position. Neither France nor the western world have anything to gain from Barack Obama's failure. It seems as if the president is betting on this failure, which isolates France in Europe."

I think Sarkozy expects Obama to fail at his diplomatic efforts with rogue countries. So far, that is exactly what seems to be happening. Iran has rebuffed Obama's "open hand," and North Korea has taken a series of provocative actions since Obama's inauguration.

The Times continues, "The French government has refused a US request to send more fighting troops to Afghanistan, while several other European allies are planning to do so. Mr Sarkozy has expressed his frustration at the White House's perceived equivocation over how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions and the priority that Mr Obama attaches to the long-term goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Mr Sarkozy's frustration boiled over in September in a remarkably barbed speech to the UN General Assembly. 'We are right to talk about the future but before the future there is the present, and the present is two major nuclear crises,' Mr Sarkozy said, alluding to Iran and North Korea. 'We are living in a real world, not a virtual world,' he added, in a clear dig at Mr Obama's disarmament ambitions."

And this: "Policy differences have been compounded by friction over choreography and symbolism. The Elysée still smarts at Mr Obama's visit to France in June for the commemoration of the D-Day landings, when he declined an additional bilateral event with Mr Sarkozy. The French press often publishes Mr Sarkozy's unflattering comments about Mr Obama's lack of prior government experience, his alleged difficulty in reaching decisions or his domestic electoral setbacks."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ed72794-f30e-11de-a888-00144feab49a.html