Cablegate: Subject: Media Reaction: President Sarkozy's Visit To

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DE RUEHSO #0902 3121812
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O 081812Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7664
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8777
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8430
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UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000902

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TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: PRESIDENT SARKOZY'S VISIT TO
WASHINGTON; WESTERN HEMISPHERE: VENEZUELA; SAO PAULO

1. "Bush's New Best Friend"

Center-right national circulation daily O Estado de S. Paulo's Paris
correspondent Giles Lapouge commented (11/7): "It was a U.S. friend
who arrived yesterday in Washington for a two-day visit. The
Americans, who are not used to kind words from French presidents,
are radiant by feeling themselves loved.... For Bush, the French
flattery is opportune to a president who is limping with an approval
rate of only 25%, who is hated in other nations and who has just
lost his best ally, Tony Blair.... The replacement of the English
friend for a French one is precious because Washington is facing
several confusions: Iran, Iraq, Kurds, Pakistan, environment,
Putin.... Sarkozy's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is a
pro-American militant - sometimes more bellicose than the
Americans.... However, Sarkozy is intelligent enough not to be
blindly associated with the US. He insisted on that although the
visit marks 'the rapprochement' with the Americans, he will not be a
White House pet. Sarkozy is not Blair."

2. "Remember 2002"

Liberal, national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo's columnist
Elio Gaspari wrote (11/7): "The rupture between General Raul Isaias
Baduel and President Hugo Chvez indicates that there is once again
a smell of coup d'tat in Venezuela. In Baduel's words, the threat
comes from Chvez himself, with his referendum proposal. It is the
old coup model that became famous in 1929, in Benito Mussolini's
Italy.... The other threat is the old Latin American coup d'tat
model of the second half of the past century.... The Venezuelan
crisis is contaminated by two irreducible blocs following the style
of Latin American confusions that result in coups. Some may hate
Chvez, but it is not fair to believe that half a dozen of
plutocrats have the power to close the Congress and the Supreme
Court as they did in 2002."
White

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