Word: balladur
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...Edouard Balladur had left nothing to chance. Everything, from the flowers on his desk to the conspicuously placed photos of his grandchildren, was calculated to project the image of a national father figure. Though there was little suspense--his intentions had long been clear--Balladur's nationally televised address was the biggest political event of the new year. It marked the Gaullist Prime Minister's official entry into a presidential race that could make him the successor to Socialist Francois Mitterrand next May. Speaking from his gilded office, Balladur, 65, promised to run a ``positive, serene and optimistic'' campaign...
Serene? Not if Jacques Chirac can help it. The Paris mayor and former Prime Minister is seething over what he calls Balladur's ``betrayal.'' Two years ago, with the conservatives poised to win a majority in legislative elections, Chirac and Balladur cut a deal: Chirac, then leader of the Gaullist Rally for the Republic (R.P.R.) party, would put Balladur into the Prime Minister's job; Balladur, in turn, would defer to Chirac as the Gaullists' ``natural'' candidate in the 1995 presidential election...
Trouble is that Balladur, quite unexpectedly, became the darling of the opinion polls and the front runner for the presidency. One by one, conservative leaders, including 25 of 29 current Cabinet members, deserted Chirac for Balladur. The defections need not be fatal for Chirac: he still claims the support of 240 of the R.P.R.'s 350 Senators and Deputies and appears to have the majority of the Gaullist rank and file on his side. But with Balladur enjoying far broader support from the center, the Prime Minister's 2-to-1 lead in the polls is formidable...
...Alpine resort of Chamonix, where he had gone to spend Christmas at his chalet, Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, a man dogged by a reputation for avoiding difficult calls, faced an agonizing decision. Expected soon to announce his presidential candidacy, he stood to see his front-runner status compromised should any operation ordered by him turn into a debacle. Yet he had to take action. On Christmas morning Balladur flew to Paris and took personal responsibility for managing the crisis...
...Balladur was livid at the news. He informed Algerian Prime Minister Mokdad Sifi that he held "Algerian authorities responsible for the security of the French nationals in the plane." According to several French publications, including the Nouvel Observateur, the Algerians attempted to make the departure of the plane contingent on a resumption of French arms shipments to Algeria. At the end of his patience, Balladur called President Lamine Zeroual just before midnight and told him that "France is ready to receive immediately the Air France plane with its passengers on French soil." Early Monday morning the Airbus took...