Sarko's uphill battle
This irritated, unshaven guy is no one else but Nicolas Sarkozy, the infamous former French president. Now he's facing a 10 year jail sentence and half a million euros fine on charges of corruption and minipulation a of criminal investigation.
Once he was released from detention, he left the police station in a black limo with dimmed windows. One could've mistaken the tiny, shaggy passenger on the back seat with a Parisian pimp who'd been prosecuted for petty swindle at Champs-Elysees or something. But in fact, Mr Bling Bling is well known for his affinity to posh watches and shiny sunglasses, and much, much more beyond that. He's now the first French president to ever get into police custody. He's now facing a reality that'll be very different from his 5 years at the Palace d'Elysee. There's a strong case building against him on charges of corruption, trade with influence and violation of professional confidence.
One witness of the initial court hearings described Sarko as "a man who looked completely ruined". He went back home in silence, accompanied by his 13-years-younger former glamor model Carla Bruni, his third wife. A few hours later, he appeared on French television, lambasting the French judicial system which in his words is being used as a "political tool". He accused the magistrates of "deliberately humiliating" him and said France is supposed to be a country of civil rights and the primacy of law, and the public shouldn't trust those who are aiming to tar his reputation, and put a premature end to a possible Sarko return and another presidential run in 2017. The parallels to the way Dominique Strauss-Kahn's political career was successfully torpedoed just a few weeks before the last presidential election, are inescapable.
The news of Sarko's arrest circled the world within a heartbeat. It clearly marks the astounding downfall of a politician who surely did love to bathe in power. In reality, few people in France are surprised with his fate. He was well known for his excessive lifestyle, which was in stark contrast to the political principles that he claimed to espouse. With his height of 165 cm, he may've been 2.5 cm shorter than Nepoleon, but he sure didn't fall too much behind in terms of ego. He also had a tremendous appetite for wasting money, especially if the money wasn't his. For example, while in office he commissioned the purchase of a special Airbus A330 for 376.5 million euros, featuring such extras like a special seat that was placed a few cm higher than the rest, so he could watch down on his minions from up high. Well, the plane actually cost 62.7 million euros, and the remaining 313.8 million was spent for various designer improvements - like a super-luxurious bedroom with acoustic insulation.
The most outrageous part about all that was that in the meantime he was constantly preaching about austerity, while not shying away from using the taxpayer's money to sustain his and his wife's illustrious lifestyle. The former presidential couple would split its time between the Palace d'Elysee and their three luxurious mansions in the province, and their "holiday castle" at the French Riviera. This marvelous collection of top establishments would of course require the competent maintenance of an army of servants, again paid for from taxpayer millions.
Carla Bruni, the popular model, was no less "fascinating" than he was. "Monogamy bores me terribly", was her most famous line (not that this wasn't a reflection of the typically French mindset, though). Still, she married Sarko in 2008 at a time when he was at his peak. She was beside him through all his legal adventures, and still is. One would've thought that after all the rumors of constant infidelity she would've dumped him, now that he has lost the election in 2012, but that's probably not a very French thing to do anyway. Btw, her financial (mis)doings are also going to be scrutinized, although the magistrates are primarily focusing on the inexplicable amounts of money in Sarko's previous election campaign for the time being. Sorry, no super-PACs there.
Some of Sarko's aides are testifying that he had visited the heir to the mighty cosmetic brand L'Oreal, Liliane Bettencourt, France's wealthiest woman. He was reported leaving her place with bags stacked with money. Her mansion is just next door to Sarko's home in Paris, but he insists those visits were just to "communicate with his neighbor", nothing more.
Another (in)famous campaign donor was the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who personally claimed to have given 52.7 million euros to Sarkozy. "It was thanks to me that he became president. We gave him the funds he needed to win", Gaddafi himself bragged back in 2011.
Only time will tell what other dirty secrets will come out and what revelations we'll witness about the colorful, controversial life of one of France's most notable political figures of late. But, like I've said many times before, just like with Berlusconi in Italy, writing him off of the French political scene would yet be too premature - even if he's presently facing the toughest challenge in his entire political career.