Obama and his French critic

Barack Obama, AP photo

Translated from the French by Aimee Kligman

Original article appeared in Cyberpresse on 11.29.09

The organizers of the Copenhagen summit have Nicolas Sarkozy to thank. Indeed, if the United States and China have announced targets for reducing emissions on the eve of the international conference, it was because of him, or at least due to the climate agreement that that he signed in mid-November with his Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva.

The French president congratulated himself in saying that the agreement got 'Obama moving',  last week during his tour in Brazil and the Caribbean. 'He sensed a trap, and after China, he moved'.  Nobody wants 'mistigri failure' in Denmark.

However, Nicolas Sarkozy is not really happy with the decision of his U.S. counterpart to visit Copenhagen in December 9, and not 17th and 18th as other Heads of State and Government.  'The decisive moments will be on December 17th and 18th', he hammered in Port of Spain. 'If some come in early, others late, then when do we make decisions? '

'They must be here all together ( heads of state and government) to discuss, amend, negotiate and find solutions. If we are not all there at the same time, what solutions can we find?'

Nicolas Sarkozy could have added: 'We really need to teach this Barack Obama everything, don't we?  as he has made it a habit of openly expressing his impatience, condescension or doubts regarding whom he  a ' friend' in July 2008. This attitude is part of a "fixation" according to U.S. Weekly Newsweek, where an article titled the 'Obama Sarkozy Complex' appeared in October.

'The relationship between the two heads of state is far from being rosy, and does not always work effectively,'  writes Newsweek Paris correspondent Christopher Dickey. 'One wonders sometimes if Obama even notices his counterpart hyperkinetic counterpart.  And this explains the fixation on Obama, that seems to have taken hold of  the ambitious Parisian.'

Taking its cue from Newsweek, the French weekly L'Express published in its current issue an entire dossier of Nicolas Sarkozy's Obama obsession, referring in particular to Sarkozy's irritation when faced with the 'magic surrounding each of the irrational acts of the first black president in the history of the United States '. (" It's not just the protocol in politics, not the glamor, there are issues', he had exclaimed upon his return from the G20 summit in London).

But Sarko is consoling himself these days by comparing himself to the U.S. president, who is facing multiple problems.

"What would have people said if I had lost the elections like this? Imagine, he (the U.S. President) went four times, yes, four times to the State of New Jersey,' he said, according to L' Express,  the day after the democrats were defeated in elections for gubernatorial posts on November 3.

On another occasion he said: 'Obama has been in power for a year and he has lost three elections. Since September, I've had two partial legislatives and we've won them. Four months ago, we had European elections, and we came out on top.'

Nicolas Sarkozy speaks openly in front of ministers, leaders of the majority and journalists. His statements have little impact overseas, except perhaps among the neoconservatives who have taken particular note of the French president's skepticism on Obama's policy of an open hand vis-à-vis Iran .

'The perception that Obama is weak has already begun to spread even in Europe, especially with French President Nicolas Sarkozy', wrote former US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, after Obama's recent Asia trip.

The White House could probably respond that his approach has yielded positive results in the Iranian nuclear dossier. China and Russia, under heavy pressure from the United States, rallied on Friday by joining the resolution of the IAEA'S executive board, condemning Iran for hiding the existence of a sensitive nuclear site, a first since 2006 .

And the US President's staff has already provided its own explanation for China's decision to announce targets for reduction of CO2 emissions. An explanation that is not related to Nicolas Sarkozy, but rather to negotiations which took place in the context of Barack Obama's visit to China.

The time will doubtless come when an American journalist will reveal what President Obama thinks of his French counterpart. Meanwhile, the last word goes to :L'Express, that Nicolas Sarkozy told a close government aid about 'his concern that the American will be murdered.'

A true 'friend', you know.