SARKOZY ELECTION SPEECH ROUSES FRANCE !

Sarkozy's official reappearance in the French political arena, after his unexpected defeat by François Hollande in the Presidential Election in May 2012, has been meticulously planned for some time. He announced his return last Sunday on French television.

For almost a week he has been seen at Prime Time on almost every TV channel, but he gave little away about his ideas and intentions, except to say that he would be a candidate for the post of President of his "political family".   He wanted to reorganise and rejuvenate the party after a turbulent but sterile period.

Some leading members of UMP were clearly worried by what this meant.  Last night they found out !  Sarkozy held his first meeting in Lambersart (in the Calais area) as a candidate for the Presidency of the party.

He spoke about changes which are now necessary in France after the disasterous two and a half years of the Presidency of François Hollande.

He wants to build a new team, a new party for the future.  He said that there would be a Primary Election to determine one sole official Party Candidate for the next Presidential Elections in 2017 !  To do otherwise would be suicide and could result in the National Front candidate being in the final run-off with a Socialist !

Long held principles of the Socialist Movement must be revised to make France competitive again.  Trade Unions must expect and accept changes in the Law ! 

The Schengen Treaty must be modified to help not only France but other countries as well and also to protect not only the EUROZONE but the EU as a whole !

Hollande has diverted public attention to the problems in the Middle East, but today Sarkozy made a forceful speech.  It was a real wake-up call which covered internal politics and the economic problems France is facing.  Changes must come !

There are just three little observations worth noting ! 
 
   -  He talked about a "new political union" but never mentioned the name of UMP.

    -  He talked about the "new team" he needed !  There will surely be more speculation about what this means !

    -  Finally, while the Candidate Sarkozy was delivering his speech, one was not quite sure whether it was the   future President of the Party, or of France, who was speaking !  In fact it was both !
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