WHILE speculation has reached fever pitch that Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, will marry Carla Bruni next month, his approval ratings have plummeted.
If the rumours are true, Mr Sarkozy may be planning a honeymoon less than four months after divorcing his wife Cecilia in October – but his political honeymoon with the French public is over.
Media commentators and the left-wing opposition
have lined up to accuse Mr Sarkozy of neglecting the day-to-day concerns of the public for his high-profile romance with Ms Bruni. Even members of his own right-wing UMP party have begun to criticise the president for putting his private life on public display.
Only 48 per cent of voters now trust Mr Sarkozy to run the country, according to a poll published on Sunday, a drop of 7 per cent since December and the first time his ratings have fallen below 50 per cent since his election in May. Among the over-60s, the plunge was even more dramatic – 15 per cent.
The romance hit the headlines last month after the couple were photographed at EuroDisney with the Italian-born singer's mother and six year-old son. Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni spent a five-day Christmas holiday in Egypt where they were followed by a swarm of paparazzi.
The relationship might even have diplomatic fallout. Yesterday, a senior Saudi official called on Mr Sarkozy to respect Saudi Arabia's conservative Islamic culture by visiting the country later this month without his girlfriend.
Dominique Moisi, a political analyst, said that a proposal to Ms Bruni could be part of Mr Sarkozy's desire to head off any future controversies.
"He's trying to seduce the French," Mr Moisi said.
The full article contains 294 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
