JUST HIM AND HIS SCAPEGOATS:

The Loneliness of Nicolas Sarkozy: Roma Campaign Isolates Leader in Europe and France (Britta Sandberg and Stefan Simons, 9/20/10, Der Spiegel)

These kinds of histrionics have up to now been the sole preserve of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who for years has been conducting politics as a kind of reality TV show. Berlusconi, who has had a face-lift and is said to use makeup, is provocative, revels in bizarre announcements, and even makes risqué comments at international summits. Does Europe now have a second diva in Paris?

Yes, say Parisian newspapers, which have already dubbed him "Sarkosconi." Yes, says political scientist Olivier Duhamel, one of the signatories of the "We are all French" petition, an initiative that rejects Sarkozy's plans to strip foreign-born French nationals of their citizenship if they fall foul of the law. Duhamel believes Sarkozy is as hopelessly narcissistic as Berlusconi, similarly obsessed by the idea of controlling the media, and driven by the desire to keep tabs on everything and everyone.

Just like the Italian premier, Sarkozy has long been appointing friends to key positions in both the political establishment and the media. Now he is engaging in xenophobic populism. All that is missing, Duhamel says, is "an open alliance with the far-right." It was no surprise, then, that Berlusconi was the only European leader who backed Sarkozy last week.

Nicolas Sarkozy's expulsion of the Roma is born of frustration that his popularity is at an all-time low.