http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/15/europe/sarkozy.php
Link: Sarkozy winning over his EU colleagues - International Herald Tribune.
PARIS: Hyperactive, overbearing and unpredictable. Such was the damning verdict many European neighbors had unofficially rendered about President Nicolas Sarkozy as France took over the presidency of the European Union in July.
But three months later, the very characteristics that made British and German officials cringe have proved effective, even essential, in forging a swift European response to two major crises: the Georgia-Russia war and the ongoing global financial turmoil.
As one grudgingly admiring German diplomat put it, speaking anonymously because of the delicacy of the subject, "In a time of crisis, hyperactive becomes energetic, overbearing becomes dogged, and unpredictable becomes pragmatic."
Sarkozy, Europe's longtime enfant terrible, is on a roll - even if partly by accident. (((Like any politician can avoid accidents in 2008. How? Where? Get with it.)))
As recently as last spring, it was Sarkozy's erratic side that made headlines, an image reinforced by a whirlwind romance and marriage to his glamorous third wife, the model-turned-singer Carla Bruni.
Then came a tough summer and an even tougher autumn. War on Europe's edge, in Georgia, 10 French soldiers killed in an Afghan ambush and the realization that the U.S. banking crisis would not spare Europe brought out a different kind of leader.
"Sarkozy is a leader for crisis; he is a frontline leader," said Denis MacShane, a former British minister for European affairs. "He thrives on the adrenaline, he wants to bring people together, and he is willing to take decisions." (((As opposed to "leaders" who thrive on sloth, aim to divide and polarize, and emptily declare themselves to be deciders. Do we have a choice here?)))
Certainly, an EU presidency that had been declared dead before it even started after Irish voters the bloc's reform treaty in June has been a roller-coaster of activity....
