Nicolas Sarkozy – Slugger O'Toole

Hollande wins in France…

Pete Baker on May 6, 2012, 7:29 pm

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According to reported early estimates Socialist Francois Hollande has been elected as France’s new president, early estimates say. He got about 52% of votes in Sunday’s run-off, according to projections based on partial results, against 48% for centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. The Guardian’s live-blog will have further updates. As for what it means for the fiscal pact, and the wider Euro crisis, I think the results in Greece may prove to be more significant. Exit polls in the Greek parliamentary election …

Euro crisis: “We are not fully in control of the sequence of events…”

Pete Baker on February 7, 2012, 5:29 pm

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Having watched as yesterday’s ‘deadline’ went whooshing past their heads, Greek party leaders are due to meet later tonight to consider another draft bail-out deal – once it’s been translated into Greek… You can follow events as they unfold at the Guardian’s live-blog. Meanwhile, as promised, Frau Bundeskanzlerin has joined Nicolas Sarkozy on the campaign trail in a joint television interview, following a joint French/German cabinet meeting – as the BBC reports Earlier the two leaders held a joint cabinet meeting, …

Sarkozy: “I did not know she voted in France…”

Pete Baker on January 31, 2012, 3:39 pm

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At the Guardian’s Politics Blog, Michael White has some fun with reports that Nicolas Sarkozy has enlisted Frau Bundeskanzlerin in his French presidential re-election campaign. Although this post’s title quote, from the Wall Street Journal blogs, suggests he may already be having second thoughts… ANYhoo… From Michael White’s post We can assume that pollsters have advised Sarko that the pluses of being identified positively with the much-admired German economy will outweigh the risks . Marine Le Pen, the National Front (NF) …

Mario Draghi: “no doubt whatever about the strength of the euro, its permanence, its irreversibility…”

Pete Baker on December 20, 2011, 3:12 pm

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The Guardian reports the comments by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi that he has “no doubt whatever about the strength of the euro, its permanence, its irreversibility”. But then, he would say that, wouldn’t he? Meanwhile, some European countries have agreed to provide €150billion to the International Monetary Fund to cover eurozone countries’ debt – short of the €200billion they were aiming for. The UK declined an invitation to contribute. The Daily Telegraph’s Ambrose Evans-Pritchard lists 6 good reasons why. And as …

Euro crisis: “Anyone who claims to know what is about to happen to Europe is a fool.”

Pete Baker on December 14, 2011, 11:56 am

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In the Guardian, Simon Jenkins identifies a key point missing from most analysis of the aftermath of the EU crisis summit. From the Guardian article Anyone who claims to know what is about to happen to Europe is a fool. An unprecedented collapse in world credit has hit against years of reckless state borrowing to produce economic meltdown. Where there is economic meltdown, there is always a danger of political meltdown. While all other sciences have advanced over the ages, …

Euro crisis: “it is time to send for the Borg…”

Pete Baker on November 15, 2011, 3:25 pm

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You can follow the latest developments in the eurozone crisis at the Guardian’s live-Business blog as pressure mounts on Italian Prime Minister designate, Mario Monti – who was nominated to replace Silvio Berlusconi three days after the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, appointed Monti a Lifetime Senator. From his Wikipedia entry In 2007, Monti was one of the first supporters of the first European civic forum, Etats Généraux de l’Europe, initiated by European think tank EuropaNova and European Movement. In December 2009, he …

Sarkozy: “We will fight to defend Europe and the euro”

Pete Baker on November 4, 2011, 3:23 pm

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With apologies to Moochin, here’s the real POTD [of the week? – Ed] when the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, had his card marked at Cannes by Frau Bundeskanzlerin. Via Daniel Hannan at the Telegraph blog. Italy have called in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but no money has changed hands, according to Berlusconi… Answering questions at a press conference in Cannes this afternoon, Mr Berlusconi said he had no intention of resigning and did not believe his time in government was coming …

Euro crisis: “The Greek government has become adept at playing Europe’s leaders…”

Pete Baker on November 1, 2011, 4:34 pm

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The Guardian’s Business blog team are live-blogging events following the ‘bolt from the blue’ that was the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou calling for a referendum on the ‘rescue package’. And there’s an emergency Greek government cabinet meeting at 4pm [GMT]. BBC business editor, and still everyone’s hero, Robert Peston, looks at “the price of Greek democracy”. Opinion polls wouldn’t suggest there’s a high probability of Mr Papandreou winning the day. But views can change. What’s in it for the Greek people? Well, …

Euro crisis: “And all bets are off if Europe does not start to grow again…”

Pete Baker on October 31, 2011, 3:25 pm

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At the Guardian’s business blog, Graeme Wearden is live-blogging the European debt crisis, as the “OECD predicts some negative growth in eurozone in 2012… and calls for “bold” action from the G20, Italian bond yields hit 6.13%, Markets fall as bailout deal euphoria peters out, [and the] Euro crisis drags MF Global to the brink“. Meanwhile BBC Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt, considers “Europe after the euphoria” Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or that expectations had been exceeded, but there was a whiff …

Taoiseach on euro crisis: “I think we have to get on with what we have now…”

Pete Baker on September 30, 2011, 7:03 pm

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Oh dear… RTÉ reports Taoiseach Enda Kenny sticking his head in the sand insisting that the status quo is perfectly adequate to deal with the eurozone crisis. Speaking in Warsaw, Mr Kenny admitted there had been a lot of discussion among eurozone leaders about where the crisis was headed, and that there would be a good deal more discussion before heads of government meet in mid October. When asked if he supports Treaty change in order to facilitate a deeper …

Euro crisis: “It is a debt crisis but a crisis, too, of legitimacy.”

Pete Baker on September 14, 2011, 3:43 pm

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Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded two major French banks ahead of crisis talks between President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou. BBC business editor, and still everyone’s hero, Robert Peston explains why. And Greece isn’t their only concern. Nor are they the only ones taking an interest. [Adds – More on the interest elsewhere]. The Guardian’s business blog is live-blogging today’s events… And, even though they “know how difficult a treaty change will be”, that’s precisely what …

Sarkozy: “We have to converge. The status quo is impossible.”

Pete Baker on August 17, 2011, 4:35 pm

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Frau Bundeskanzlerin and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, emerged from their bunker yesterday to call for “true economic governance” for the eurozone. As Derek Scally reports in the Irish Times Mr Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel presented joint proposals for further reforms and euro zone integration after meeting in Paris yesterday, calling them essential steps to end ongoing instability. “To strengthen the euro as our common currency, it is clear that we will need a closer interlocking of economic and financial …

Barroso: “Nobody should be under any illusion: the situation is very serious”

Pete Baker on July 20, 2011, 5:14 pm

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Everyone’s got something to say ahead of tomorrow’s emergency EU summit on the existential European debt crisis. Whether you believe any of them is another matter entirely… Taoiseach Enda Kenny is echoing Frau Bundeskanzlerin. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he is also hopeful that Ireland will be on the agenda at tomorrow’s meeting. However, in a statement issued today, Mr Kenny said he did not believe the meeting would solve all of the euro zone’s problems. “The crisis in the euro area …

Van Rompuy: “Europe is still sexy…”

Pete Baker on July 5, 2011, 10:54 pm

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So sayeth the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, as the BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt notes Europe’s leaders are unsettled, scratchy. Old certainties have given way to anxiety. The open road to ever closer union is now strewn with boulders. You can gauge the ebbing confidence from remarks that didn’t need to be made. “Europe is still sexy,” declared President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. “As long as a club attracts new members,” he added, “it is …

Jean-Claude Juncker: “The sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited.”

Pete Baker on July 4, 2011, 9:01 pm

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After the Greek parliament voted to give everyone more time to come up with a better solution, Eurozone finance ministers agreed to release the promised €12billion to Greece to avoid an immediate default. But those same finance ministers have now delayed discussions on the details of a second bail-out for Greece, thought to be around 120bn euros, needed to pay the bills until the end of 2014. According to an Irish Times report today, the Greek finance minister Evangelos Venizelos has stated, “Euro Group decided through a …

Euro crisis: Come on in, the water’s lovely…

Pete Baker on June 24, 2011, 9:12 pm

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Croatia got an invite to join the European Union party, as EU leaders cornered the under pressure Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, ahead of next week’s crucial Greek parliamentary vote on the latest bail-out. Arthur Beesley in the Irish Times FOR THE fourth time this year, EU leaders gathered in Brussels last night to plot the next step in the sovereign debt emergency. They have declared victory many times before. None is inclined to suggest they are winning now. The mood …

“What is clear is that Dublin’s perspective will not be the defining one.”

Pete Baker on April 5, 2011, 4:44 pm

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In his Irish Times European Diary Arthur Beesley sketches out the domestic political pressures elsewhere which may hinder the Irish Government’s attempt to renegotiate the terms of their bail-out. From the Irish Times article In Portugal, fellow socialist Jose Socrates talked himself into an early election a few weeks ago by failing to win support for a new austerity drive. The country is said to be in a funk of despair over the prospects of a bailout. Look northwards from Spain …

“The result is a crisis in European democracy”

Pete Baker on March 14, 2011, 4:06 pm

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On the back of a survey of more than 5,000 people of working age in the UK, Germany, France, Poland and Spain, the Guardian editorialises on the future of the EU. They’re promising a month long series of articles mapping out the social, political and economic terrain. From the Guardian editorial The poll we publish today is taken from a sample of more than 5,000 people of working age in the five leading EU states – Britain, France, Germany, Spain and …

“Corporation tax is now mentioned as a quid pro quo”

Pete Baker on March 12, 2011, 1:15 pm

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Encouraging noises are one thing, but at the first EU late nighter of Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s tenure the BBC reports some possibly premature tweeting from EU President Herman Van Rompuy. In a message on Twitter, Mr Van Rompuy had initially said: “We have an agreement on the Pact for Euro.” The message was later amended to: “Update from ongoing meeting: Agreement in principle on the Pact for the Euro, but still discussing the other elements of the package.” A pact would …

“To say Ireland is cornered might be to understate the situation.”

Pete Baker on February 5, 2011, 4:38 pm

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No agreement emerged on the details of Germany and France’s proposed “pact for competitiveness” for the eurozone at yesterday’s EU Council meeting. The Irish Times reports “a swathe” of opposition expressed at the meeting, while The Guardian editorialises against the German model – but accepts that the eurozone’s “economic rules do need an overhaul”. The EU Council press release is brief on the topic The economic situation The EU leaders discussed the economic situation in Europe and the eurozone. President Van …