If François Hollande is not exactly rubbing his hands with glee, he will feel a little early Christmas cheer at least. Marine Le Pen will also be grateful for the early seasonal gift.
Their old adversary Nicolas Sarkozy returned to frontline French politics on Saturday night when he was elected president of the UMP, but his comeback is unlikely to have either the ever-unpopular Hollande or the increasingly influential Marine Le Pen too concerned.
As one Socialist Party source put it: “Hollande has been fighting the ring alone for two years. Now at least there is someone else to trade punches with.”
Although Sarko’s popularity ratings never tumbled as low as Hollande’s thanks to the fact that his core support on the centre-right remained behind him, he was still a very unpopular French president.
And his personal popularity, which cost him victory in 2012, has failed to grow since he’s been out of the limelight.
“The Sarkozy brand remains toxic. From an article in The Local
Val says such a shame there is not a rising star in the UMP as Sarkozy's brand appears toxic. My money on the rising star is Manual Valls in the socialist party. I am not saying I like him but he has less baggage than most, one wife and unless tarnished by the Hollande Presidency seems in a good position. Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
