Sarkozy Wins Over Unions

There was an earthquake earlier this week in Europe. It was not one that shook the ground but one that shook long-established traditions.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy took on the vaunted French unions and won through righteous resolve. He knew that it was a battle that had he lost, he would effectively have lost momentum and credibility. Instead, he stared them down and in doing so may have saved the French economy and their standing as a world power.

The French have been mired in a stagnant economy for quite a while as the rest of Europe, led by Ireland, has flourished. 35-hour work weeks and numerous vacation days had the result of sinking production, efficiency and output thus reducing French economic power in the EU and around the world. Under Chirac, the French lost support of the American citizen and those of the continent. In fact, French credibility was so reduced as to be insignificant as shown by the EU Constitution going down in flames.

Sarkozy has done several things that will benefit his nation long-term: first he reconciled with the US. Years of Chirac had led to diplomatic hostility and harmed relations on all fronts (see the French wine industry as exhibit A). Next, he reiterated his support of NATO. Now he went after the biggest domestic problem for the French, the unions and the firm grip they had on the nation.

Investors Business Daily sums it up thusly:

On Friday, Sarkozy vowed to go ahead with economic reforms that may help end France's long economic slide into irrelevance. "I have no intention to stop the reform movement, no intention to slow it down, no intention to forget my promises," he said. "I made commitments. They will be kept."

Those phrases echo those made by both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher when they faced similar union-made problems — in Reagan's case, with air traffic controllers; in Thatcher's, with the Marxist-led coal miners. Both stuck to their guns and won. Now Sarko's done the same.

No longer, he told the transport and energy unions, could their members expect to retire on full pensions at age 55 — and in some cases as early as 53. Instead, they must put in a full 40 years.

Contrast that with Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac. During his presidency, the unions routinely got their way — especially in 1995, when they virtually shut down the economy with strikes over basically the same pension issues.

Comparisons with Reagan and Thatcher--high praise indeed.

I'm not well-informed on Thatcher and the coal miners, but Reagan changed the way the federal government operates when he booted the air traffic controllers. Bush could have had his Reaganesque moment if he had the nerve to stand up for Social Security reform. He failed miserably in that skirmish.

Let's hope Sarkozy continues to make the necessary changes as we need allies that are not only strong militarily but strong economically as well.