The big haps in Europe

Seems like the big news coming out of Europe this week is centered mostly around the continuation of riots in France and the faltering efforts to establish a workable coalition government in Germany.

What's the common theme, you ask? Well...I guess one could be "trouble for America's favorites."

Angela Merkel is widely seen as reform-minded (and by reform-minded, I mean more liberal in the classic European sense...in other words, less government regulation and a more flexible labor market) and much more pro-US than Gerhard Schroeder.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the 'get-tough' French Minister of the Interior is taking heat for his firm stance in dealing with the riots - heat that may affect his bid to replace Chirac as French President come the 2007 election. Like Merkel, Sarkozy is viewed as both more pro-US and more open to market-based reforms than current leaders.

While quite a few press reports are scolding Sarkozy for staying tough, it might be more difficult to judge (at least this early on) how the general French public will react. Judging by French voters' rejection of the EU Constitution and recent French efforts to erect firmer barriers around their own culture and way of life, there is a fairly solid chance that Sarkozy's tough stance against immigrant-led riots will help rather than hurt his political fortunes.

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Europe
Merkel
Sarkozy