FRANCE: The French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, has been an official presidential candidate for only two days. But the stereotypes about him and his opponent, President Jacques Chirac, are already established. Mr Chirac is the candidate of "passion", Mr Jospin the purveyor of responsibility".
With much of the French electorate saying there's no longer any difference between right and left, the two candidates will do almost anything to appear different from each other. Mr Chirac appeared on TF1, the leading private television station.
So Mr Jospin gave his opening interview last night to France 2, the publicly-owned channel. Mr Jospin forced himself to smile a lot, but the smile still looked forced.
Asked in December whether he would stand, Mr Jospin surprised everyone by saying it was "very much a question of desire".
But when the presenter read it back to him last night, Mr Jospin said his feelings "are certainly mixed". There was pleasure in being a candidate. "There is serenity," he added. "And then there is a very strong feeling of responsibility."
Always eager to veer away from emotion, Mr Jospin added: "My problem is not to know what I am feeling but why I am going into this campaign." The answer? "At the same time to serve and to act."
Mr Jospin denied Gaullist accusations that he has secretly orchestrated revelations about financial scandals involving Mr Chirac. "Les affaires must not be used in the campaign," he said. "The answer to les affaires is the justice system." But if elected, he would re-examine the issue of presidential immunity, which has enabled Mr Chirac to avoid being questioned by judges.
What did he mean by saying he would "preside differently" if elected?
For one thing, Mr Jospin said in a clear allusion to Mr Chirac, he would keep his promises. "If you take a stand on issues . . . you can't then turn your back on them as has been done since (Mr Chirac won the election in) 1995. It creates disillusionment." In his last campaign, Mr Chirac promised to "heal the social fracture" in France.
Mr Jospin said he wants "a restored presidency" where the head of state will not delegate his responsibility.
If he had one regret for his last five years as prime minister, Mr Jospin said, it was the rising crime rate in France. "I cannot be satisfied with the situation of insecurity," he admitted. Did he acknowledge it was his government's fault? "We were surely a little overwhelmed or surprised," he answered. But, Mr Jospin added, Mr Chirac's proposals on fighting crime copy measures he has already taken.
