A European View: A refreshing arrival in Europe

For six months the world has been coming to terms with the arrival of  one of the most unusual and controversial politicians to lead a major European state. That man, of course, is Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France. So is he, as some alleged before the 2007 election, a dangerous maverick, even a closet fascist? Or is he rather a true original, a rare man of principle in a world of jaundiced values? Or perhaps he is a pragmatist, determined to stamp his and France's authority on the world, yet also willing to "cut a deal" if that is what it takes to get results?

Whichever answer is correct - and I suspect numbers 2 and 3 are closer to the mark - there is no doubt that Sarkozy represents a new mode of politics. After 15 years of Jacques Chirac, for all his suaveness and international experience, that in itself is refreshing!

Sarkozy gives the lie to the idea that Europe is somehow inevitably divided into a forward-thinking "New Europe" in the east, and a jaded backward-thinking "Old Europe" in the west. A creative and imaginative leader for the 21st century can emerge anywhere - yes, even in La Belle France!

Several factors distinguish him from his predecessors: like Angela Merkel in Germany, he is the first head of his country to be born after World War II. Nor is he allergic to America, as presidents from de Gaulle to Mitterand to Chirac seem to have been. Sarkozy's Atlanticist orientation is invigorating, all the more so because it is based on apparent partnership, not slavishness.

At the same time, Nicolas Sarkozy is a deeply committed European who played a pivotal role in the recent (Dec 17, 2007) signing of the Treaty of Lisbon. This document will take effect on 1 January 2009. And when that happens, Europe will have a constitution that will empower the European parliament, cement its commitment to human rights, and fortify a common European foreign policy. The ECJC applauds this momentous step - and the French President's role in pushing it through.

Nor are Sarkozy's merits merely academic from a broader Jewish perspective. France hosts the third largest Jewish community on earth after America and Israel. Jews have lived in France since ancient Roman times, French Jews were the first to taste the fruits of enlightenment with Napoleon's reforms of 1791, and they were amongst the hardest hit in the Shoah of the last century.

The last mentioned fact is something that Sarkozy understands personally. No, Nicolas Sarkozy is not himself Jewish. "I am of Catholic culture, Catholic tradition, Catholic faith", he wrote. But through his Greek grandmother's line, he knows that he lost 57 members of his family to Nazi murderers. The president is proud of all his diverse origins (truth to tell, he is only about quarter French biologically). He has often said that an attack on Jews is an attack on all of France.

Nicolas Sarkozy is, moreover, fully committed to the safety of Israel, a state to which he professes a "visceral attachment". He has shown more empathy for Israel's "inviolable" security needs than any other post-war French president, and demonstrated as much during the difficult days of the 2006 clash with Hizbullah in Lebanon. Sarkozy has even called Israel's creation "the central event in the 20th century." Can anyone imagine Chirac, Mitterand or de Gaulle saying that?

At the same time, Sarkozy is a friend who will criticize if he thinks it is in Israel's best interest. While his economic policies may be laissez faire, that does not mean he will offer Israel a carte blanche. Hence his strong suggestion, in answer to an interviewer's question over the security barrier, that nothing should be placed in the way of a peace deal.

Likewise when on the last days of 2007 he called off ties with Syria until it ceased meddling in Lebanon's affairs, he balanced this with a firm statement delivered in Cairo and directed at Israel. "I have said on several occasions... that it is the moment for the Israelis to make some gestures that would show that peace is possible - including a freeze on the implantation of settlements."

Critics have called Sarkozy inconsistent in foreign policy, or even reckless. Some chide his alleged preference for multi-billion-franc contracts over human rights concerns - witness his wooing of Libya and China, to quote just two instances.

But in assessing foreign policy, one always has to calculate a matrix of three factors: tactics, strategy and principle. Sarkozy has been tough on Iran and its potential nuclear weapons. No one knows that better than the Iranian regime. In this respect, Sarkozy marks a clear change from the Chirac era, and all indications are that he has a ready partner in Angela Merkel.

As for his tactics, some analysts fear his tendency towards brinkmanship, as in his recent set-to with Syria. But is this always a bad approach? Not necessarily: remember how John F Kennedy's dogged approach prevailed during the Cuban missile crisis?

The question remains: does France have the firepower to back up its newfound assertiveness? Only Sarkozy and a few boffins in the Elysee know the answer to that question. But based on "Sarko's" record so far, he clearly values building alliances - notably with the USA, and even Russia. And that augurs well for the future.

Maybe his apparent inconsistency is just a reflection of realpolitik. Politics is, after all, the art of the possible; and though some post-war mavens condemned realpolitik as somehow lowly, without it, we might all have gone up in cinders during the tense days of the Cold War.

The crucial question is whether his overall strategy is based on principle. I think it is. Time and again he has reiterated that Europe will hold no truck with terrorists, and that economic development and democracy is what everyone deserves, in the Middle East as much as in Europe (old or new). Hence his championing of a Mediterranean League, not so much a rival to but a partner of the EU. In this vision of a common Mediterranean hub, Israel may well play a profitable role in future.

Ultimately, though, the overriding question of "Sarko and the Jews" concerns the life of Jews in France, not policy towards Israel. And here is where too many analysts have missed a trick. For since he took office Sarkozy has emerged not as a demagogue, but rather - and surprisingly to his foes - a man of consensus. Think of his cabinet: Bernard Kouchner, seasoned leftist and internationalist as foreign minister; or his able secretary of state for human rights, a young Muslim woman of Senegalese origin, Rama Yade.

Most importantly, Sarkozy is willing to grasp the nettle of multi-cultural France. Yes, he frightened some liberals when he called rampaging Parisian youths "rabble", but at least he set down a marker. On the other side of the coin he has had the courage to acknowledge that fully 5 million French citizens are Muslims, mainly of North African origin. Islam is now the largest faith after Catholicism in France.

Where others see a problem, he sees a challenge.

Hence his bold plan, as outlined in his 2005 book, translated as "The Republic, Religions and Hope", to ensure the fullest possible integration of all people in French society, while at the same time respecting group differences. More specifically, Sarkozy worked hard to set up the Council on the Muslim Religion, which aims to bring all mosques and Muslim centres under one central state-approved authority. Now he has plans to overhaul the 1905 law forbidding state funding of religion. All of this is new terrain for France - arguably more dramatic than any foreign policy initiative.

Whether it will work only time will tell. But for the 600,000 Jews of France, Ashkenazi and Sephardi alike, there will doubtless be a key role to play. On a group level, French Jews have outstanding institutions and years of valuable experience. On an individual level, can you think of France without its Jewish intellectual-celebrities, Finkielkraut or Levi?

So, is it liberty, equality and fraternity for all? Maybe not immediately. But at least an exciting new period is opening, one that promises to be better than the troubles and uncertainties of the recent past.