A minister’s word

How satisfying it must be to sit back and watch members of government apparently trip over their tongues. It’s all the better when you’re trying to stay out of the limelight a little in an effort to revamp your image and improve your popularity ratings.

That might be the cynic’s interpretation of what has been happening here in France over the weekend, and what the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been doing. But it might not be too far off the mark.

First there was the interview the junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, gave the French national daily, Le Monde, on Saturday. In it, she’s quoted as saying that Sarkozy had set out three conditions which the Chinese authorities had to meet for him to attend the opening of the Olympic games in Beijing.

They had to open talks with the Dalai Lama, free political prisoners, and put an end to the violence against Tibetans and launch an investigation into recent clashes there. These conditions were “indispensable” she told the newspaper.

Then Yade backtracked on what she is reported to have said, claiming she was misquoted and insisting the word “conditions” was never used.

But the paper is sticking to its story and maintains that it accurately reported what was said. So it’s the word of the junior minister against that of one of the most respected newspapers internationally. That could be a tough call especially as neither politicians nor journalists are blessed with the best reputation in the world.

Although it’s hard to imagine that Yade spoke (or didn’t) without the full knowledge of her boss, let’s not forget that she has been in trouble before. When she criticised Libya’s human rights record during a visit to France last year by that country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, she was hauled in to answer to Sarkozy, but held on to her job.

During his short term in office, Sarkozy has been criticised for putting economic concerns and billion euro contracts ahead of human rights, both with China and Libya. In “allowing” Yade to speak out and then do an apparent volte face, Sarkozy manages to give the impression that he is indeed concerned with humans rights without actually having to make a statement himself. In a sense Yade plays the role of a spokesperson, saying and retracting without damaging Sarkozy’s image.

There has been no comment from the president’s official spokesman at the Elysée palace regarding Yade’s interview – a fact that for many speaks volumes.

But Yade’s immediate boss – the foreign minister and internationally respected humanitarian, Bernard Kouchner, was quick to react. He insisted that France would impose no conditions on China about whether Sarkozy would attend the opening ceremony, as that would be counterproductive to keeping a dialogue going over human rights.

“The president will decide according to how the situation (in Tibet) turns out,” Kouchner told French television. “ How that evolves must be followed but all possibilities remain open.”

The chances are this story will still be making the headlines on Monday when the Olympic flame is due to pass through Paris. It’ll be interesting to see whether Yade joins protesters in the streets of the French capital, or whether she feels she has said more than enough for the moment.

Taking a lead - sort of

It has taken a fair bit of time for the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to decide as to whether he's going to boycott the opening ceremony of this summer's Olympics in Beijing.

And contrary to what headline writers here in France and around the world are saying he still hasn't actually made up his mind. But he is a little further along in the decision-making process if we're to believe his junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade.

In an interview with the French daily, Le Monde, on Saturday she said that Sarkozy had set down a checklist of three conditions that the Chinese authorities needed to meet. They had to open talks with the Dalai Lama, free political prisoners, and put an end to the violence against Tibetans and launch an investigation into recent clashes there she told the newspaper.

Yade insisted that meeting the three conditions was "indispensable" in ensuring the French president attended the opening ceremony, although she admitted that Sarkozy would only take his final decision after having consulted other European Union leaders,

So in a sense Sarkozy has almost declared his position, but not quite. He still has a "get out" clause because of course some of his European partners might not agree with his stand. And let's not forget he hasn't actually made a statement himself, even if allowing his junior minister to put his position in a newspaper interview is tantamount to doing so.

There's no denying that the French president has some potential clout to wield with Beijing - morally and politically if not necessarily economically.

France will take over the rotating presidency of the 27-state European Union at the beginning of July - one month ahead of the games. If he could persuade the rest of the EU to present a united front in boycotting the official opening unless his conditions are met, it would be a major personal political coup for him.

The Chinese will also be keen to avoid the embarrassment of having little or no political representation from the bloc and perhaps only a token presence of athletes from those countries at the opening ceremony.

Pressure groups have been lobbying Sarkozy to take the opportunity to wield a little more influence and he looks set to grab it - almost.

The Olympic flame is due to pass through Paris on Monday and already protests are expected as it makes its way along the streets of the French capital.

Reining in spending

It’s good to know that the French government’s plans to reduce its budget deficit by €7 billion by 2011 isn’t an austerity programme, but a series of reforms.

At least that's what the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his ministers would have the country believe after Friday's announcement of "150 ways to cut spending."

"It's not by economising that we will be able to reform, but instead reforms will allow economies to be made," Sarkozy said in a wonderful doublespeak sound bite.

His plan is to modernise the State by introducing reforms aimed at cutting the deficit to zero by 2011. Last week the government raised it projected deficit for 2008 from 2,3 per cent of GDP to 2,5 per cent.

But the problem as far as many of his critics are concerned is that Sarkozy didn't actually give details of how those cuts are to be made. Instead he defined the problem - as if anyone really needed telling - and gave a broad outline of want he wants to have achieved in three years time without specifically saying how he expects to get there.

There's no annual timetable for cuts for example, an essential gauge of how on target the state would be in getting rid of the deficit.

Instead he presented a wish list of what he thinks will help, and his government ministers will now have to come up with the actual policies.

Sure he says one way to cut spending would be to overhaul France's civil service by only replacing one of every two retiring civil servants. That's an election promise he made.

But it'll be an uphill battle even if a majority of the French think it's a good idea. Around a quarter of the country's working population, or five million people, are employed as civil servants.

And they're not likely to sit back and see privileges taken away (such as early retirement or annual pensions based on the last six months of employment) that might actually help reduce the deficit. Perhaps that's why Sarkozy didn't go in to specifics.

There is of course already the spectre of that other (failed) election promise - increasing purchasing power - that has simply not materialised. Reducing the number of civil servants could well go the same way.

Another plan is to cut defence spending - no not on weapons, before any pacifists out there start getting excited. Instead Sarkozy maintains that the armed services could be administered more efficiently. At the moment each of them, the army, navy and air force, is regulated separately.

But even though it might make common sense, again there is no mention of how he is going to change that. Something presumably for the defence minister to be getting on with.

Sarkozy also wants to revamp the diplomatic service without actually saying how but simply by pointing out some of the many anomalies that currently exist.

"Is it normal," he wonders "to have 721 people working for the diplomatic service in Senegal while there are 271 in India?" Nobody would disagree with the absurdity of such statistics, but again Sarkozy neglects to say how it should be changed. That'll be a job for the foreign minister.

Friday's announcement was the second in a series of three major policy declarations. The first was in December when he summarised plans to cut back red tape in government.

And the third tranche is scheduled for May, when welfare benefits and social spending are due to come under scrutiny, with Sarkozy ominously confirming that "we are just at the beginning."

As far as today's declaration is concerned it would seem a case of the outline has been sketched and now it's up to the various ministers to do their bit and make savings. And to that end the president wants to set up an audit, presumably staffed with more civil servants.

The fear must be that as with pension and education reforms which the government has pushed through with mixed success, the opposition will protest loudly about the latest plans and the country will respond in its usual fashion with strikes and demonstrations.