President Nicolas Sarkozy has raised the stakes ahead of the London G20 summit, warning France will not accept any agreement that ignores his calls for tighter financial regulation.Since the onset of the financial crisis in August last year, Sarkozy has insisted that capitalism must be “refounded” under a strict new international framework of accountancy standards and limits on speculation.
This week, amid fears the London summit will be split over how to deal with the crisis, he has stepped up the pressure, warning that he would rather air the issues through a public dispute than accept a vague consensus.
“The risk is not of a failure, but of a false success — a deal on phrases that sound good, but commit us to nothing. That’s the real risk,” a French presidential source told reporters on Monday.
What in the world has happened to Sarkozy in recent months? The man was once celebrated as a real European conservative, an ally of the U.S. and a staunch proponent of the free market. He is now quickly becoming an extreme version of Jacque Chirac, however.
This is bad news for everybody, especially for Europeans who hoped Sarkozy would lead the old continent into a new age of conservative governance, based on the principles of capitalism, freedom, the free market, limited government and individual responsibility.
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