Testimony - The English Version of the Bestselling Temoignage (Hardcover)

An unprecedented political best seller, "Testimony" sets out rising political star Nicolas Sarkozy's vision for France. This very untypical French politician takes Gaullist traditionalism and turns it on its head by pointing out that de Gaulle, who changed the entire French political landscape, was anything but a traditionalist. A notably dynamic minister under President Chirac, Sarkozy is no stranger to controversy. He sets out "what I tried to do, what I want to do in the future and what can be done". Of great relevance to those who wrestle with the worldwide problem of gridlock in western style democracies, he sets out how to get things moving. Spin is rejected in favour of persuasion and clarity of explanation. The media are accepted as inevitable and essential partners. The people must be involved. There is a wide ranging examination of all the problems facing France: immigration, integration, employment, globalisation, law and order, education, Europe and international relations. There is also a clear expose of the weaknesses of the Fifth Republic and the changes that are necessary. The book is a bench mark of French political debate for the elections in 2007 and a guide for anyone interested where France is heading at a turning point in its history. It is also an intensely human book that is part biography, scattered with astute and sometimes entertaining comments about political contemporaries, not least Jacques Chirac, by one who whatever his future has already indelibly marked the politics of his country.