Nicolas Sarkozy, known for co-opting opponents and leaping left to right, has one of the finest political minds of his generation. But you can't say the same about his economic savvy. For a wild moment last year this problem was obscured: at the height of the financial crisis, leaders everywhere suddenly became free-spending, rule-breaking, bailout-granting, statist meddlers—in other words, French. And Sarkozy seemed to shine.
But with the world slowly returning to normal, countries will face new pressure for fiscal discipline and structural reform. And that could mean problems for Sarkozy, who has a habit of putting the economy at the mercy of his personal political imperatives. France was one of the first countries to emerge from recession, thanks to its thick cushion of public spending. But it racked up big debts in the process and its exit plan is far from clear. Paris has condemned the European Union's calls to cut its deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2013, down from 8.5 percent next year, as "extraordinarily difficult" and "very unrealistic." Now old French habits Sarkozy once promised to break, and the campaign tricks he has planned, could add to the burdens of Europe's second-largest economy.
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