Word: fillon
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...effort to justify Sarkozy’s comments, Prime Minister Francois Fillon later claimed that it was “totally abnormal that someone would refuse to shake the hand of the President.” Perhaps Francois Fillon and I have different definitions of the word “abnormal,” but I find it more abnormal that the President of the French Republic would call one of his constituents a stupid bastard. This incident represents a pattern of behavior wholly unfitting to the French presidency—a pattern of behavior that is costing Sarkozy credibility...
...Fillon also excused Sarkozy’s behavior by saying that “he is a man” and praising the “transparency” of Sarkozy’s general sentiment. The fact that Sarkozy is indeed a man could potentially be a valid excuse if this manifestation of Sarkozy’s “manhood” were unique. But this is not an isolated incident—Sarkozy less than ten months in office have been rife with petty personal scandals that would be at home on the cover of People Magazine...
...Sarkozy's style and omnipotence are chilling his relation with French voters, polls suggest they've been a tonic to his Prime Minister, François Fillon. The most recent polls show Fillon's popularity surging seven percentage points to 57% - a record-setting 19% gap between a French president and his hand-picked prime minister. Fillon was belittled as staid, wonkish and boring during Sarkozy's glittering first six months in power, but now he is enjoying a reputation as a solid, industrious executor of policy who tends to shun the bright lights now trained on the president. Perhaps...
...well cabinet members fulfill policy objectives laid out when they assumed office. Reviewing those indicators, Wauquiez explained, will "allow [us] to judge progress made in every area of government activity, [and] evaluate what moves and what doesn't." With those scorecards in hand, French premier François Fillon will meet with his 27 ministers and secretaries of state four times a year to discuss their performance...
...difficult as it is necessary, and because of that, he won't settle for anything but the most capable people in his cabinet in order to give himself and France the best chance of succeeding," Duhamel says. He says the idea of grading ministers was actually pushed by Fillon, despite Sarkozy's wariness it would create more tension in a cabinet already prone to division. "In the end, they realized the scheme will create pressure, but it also provides a useful for measuring reform progress and competency," says Duhamel. "That's entirely new in French politics...