No. 84 - 'President François Hollande: French-German relations'

Institute for Western Affairs' Bulletin (No. 84/2012):  prof. Z. Mazur - 'President François Hollande: French-German relations'

The defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy and the victory of François Hollande on 6 May 2012 could have been a surprise from the perspective a few preceding months, but not weeks. The first round gave Hollande a slight advantage over his opponent, which was confirmed by opinion polls and a three-hour television debate, one of the most interesting and stormy debates since 1974, when these became part of the pre-election ritual.Holland, considered to be a rather colorless politician and an apparatchik of the Socialist Party, suddenly turned out to be a good speaker able to establish contact with the masses during large rallies and, what is equally important, face up to Sarkozy in a television duel. Journalists agreed that was the most dramatic debate since the failed clash of François Mitterrand with Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1974. When it comes to the substance, it revealed significant political differences. For the audience, however, the confrontation of the two completely different personalities was probably more interesting: the calm and collected Hollande and the aggressive, impetuous and sometimes insulting Sarkozy. The confrontation ended in a draw with a slight advantage on the part of Hollande. It was the end for Sarkozy, who needed a conclusive victory, especially because he did not manage to take over the electorate of the National Front. Marine Le Pen refused to support him. With a slight advantage, theFrench decided to support political changes or, what might be even more important, different governing style and manner of their president. Sarkozy was widely criticized for both.