Sarkozy, in Rousing Talk, Takes Conservative Stands
President Nicolas Sarkozy, trailing in opinion polls six weeks before the election, gave a rousing address to some 50,000 supporters on Sunday, striking strongly conservative notes on immigration, Islam and protectionism.
In an effort to consolidate his wavering supporters for the first round of voting on April 22, Mr. Sarkozy, who has mixed apologies for his mistakes of tone and style with an aggressive turn to the right, promised again that he had “changed” and said that “I have learned” from his errors and challenges. He exhorted his backers to work hard for victory in the coming weeks and said, “I need you.”
Mr. Sarkozy also promised to invest more public money to save France’s ailing steel industry, which faces Asian competition. And while denouncing protectionism, Mr. Sarkozy cited the United States and its “Buy American Act” of 1933 — signed by President Herbert Hoover — to promise a similar “Buy European” law for France, limiting public spending as far as possible to companies that have European branches.
On Sunday, Pierre Moscovici, the director of Mr. Hollande’s (the Socialist Party's presidential candiate) campaign, said that Mr. Sarkozy was “using any means at hand to save his campaign — despite the dangers of division and without respect for our European partners.” François Rebsamen, the leader of the Socialist group in the French Senate, said that “Nicolas Sarkozy has engaged in an exercise of amnesia, as if he has lived elsewhere for 10 years and suddenly discovered problems for which he is principally responsible.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/world/europe/sarkozy-in-rousing-talk-takes-conservative-stands.html?_r=1
Sarkozy sounds like Mitt. He has "changed", learned from his "mistakes" and aggressively turned to the right. Of course, he is pandering to far-right voters leading up to the first round of presidential voting, with the hope of beating the far-right French National Party in the first round of presidential voting in April, so that he can advance to the second round in May. Since both Mitt and Sarkozy are pandering to the far right, it's no wonder they sound so similar.
