Where left meets right

Throughout the French presidential campaign Nicolas Sarkozy was lambasted by his critics as an American neo-con with a French passport. This description was excessive, but there’s little doubt that Sarkozy is more pro-American than the average French politician and his acceptance speech on election night sounded some distinctly neo-con notes about the universality of human freedom.

So at first glance it is surprising that he has handed over the foreign ministry to a Socialist. But on closer inspection, it is not. Bernard Kouchner, the founder of MSF, is one of the very few French politicians who was publicly prepared to say that they saw merit in overthrowing Saddam because of the brutal nature of his dictatorship. Indeed, his long-held commitment to human right makes him more sympathetic to American foreign policy goals than the vast majority of French politicians.

Kouchner’s appointment serves as a useful reminder of the similarities between the old internationalist left and the neo-cons.