It's a boy! Dominique Marie François Rene Galouzeau de Villepin
Remember the French politician who couldn't decide whether he wanted Saddam Hussein or the US-led coalition to win the Iraq war? President Jacques Chirac just named him premier.
A lot of people are wondering why. The obsessively anti-American Dominique Marie François Rene Galouzeau de Villepin - yes, with a name like that he is, we are told, still a he - is widely reviled in France, especially within Chirac's own Gaullist party.
Mrs. Chirac hates him so much she calls him Nero, after the Roman emperor who murdered his own mother. Former premier Alain Juppe, of Chirac's own party, begged Chirac not to pick Dominique Marie. So did former premier Edouard Balladur, who said Dominique Marie lacks "common sense."
As Olivier Guitta writes in today's Jerusalem Post, "He is most detested by the members of parliament, especially from his own party. . . .
"But more importantly, he is not popular among the French: A June 1 poll showed that only 36 percent approve of his nomination and 57% think he is not going to restore the confidence of the French people anytime soon."
Many expected Chirac to name Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy as premier. Sarkozy is the most popular politician in the country and is considered the most likely to succeed Chirac. But Sarkozy is also arguably the most pro-American politician in France. Which is probably Chirac passed him over in favor of Dominique Marie.
A lot of people are wondering why. The obsessively anti-American Dominique Marie François Rene Galouzeau de Villepin - yes, with a name like that he is, we are told, still a he - is widely reviled in France, especially within Chirac's own Gaullist party.
Mrs. Chirac hates him so much she calls him Nero, after the Roman emperor who murdered his own mother. Former premier Alain Juppe, of Chirac's own party, begged Chirac not to pick Dominique Marie. So did former premier Edouard Balladur, who said Dominique Marie lacks "common sense."
As Olivier Guitta writes in today's Jerusalem Post, "He is most detested by the members of parliament, especially from his own party. . . .
"But more importantly, he is not popular among the French: A June 1 poll showed that only 36 percent approve of his nomination and 57% think he is not going to restore the confidence of the French people anytime soon."
Many expected Chirac to name Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy as premier. Sarkozy is the most popular politician in the country and is considered the most likely to succeed Chirac. But Sarkozy is also arguably the most pro-American politician in France. Which is probably Chirac passed him over in favor of Dominique Marie.
posted by JMW at 7:32 PM
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