France: Sarkozy to name PM on first day in charge

Paris, May 17: French President Nicolas Sarkozy is widely expected to pick moderate conservative Francois Fillon as prime minister today on his first full day in office.

Shortly after taking over from Jacques Chirac yesterday, Sarkozy underscored his intention to carry out a series of reforms, such as modernising the country's inflexible economy, which the prime minister will be in charge of implementing.

Fillon, 53, masterminded Sarkozy's campaign and worked with powerful trade unions to push through sensitive reforms, making him a natural choice to spearhead changes to labour laws and France's generous pensions system.

Sarkozy and Fillon held a breakfast meeting today just hours before the new prime minister is due to take office in a handover ceremony at 1430 hrs IST, heightening speculation that Fillon would be appointed for the job.

''The French have had enough of nothing ever improving in their daily lives,'' Sarkozy said in his inaugural speech at the president's Elysee palace shortly after yesterday's handover.

''The people have entrusted me with a mandate. I will fulfil it. I will fulfil it scrupulously.'' To do that, however, he will need to secure a majority in next month's parliamentary elections or face the prospect of 'cohabiting' with a left-wing government, which would compromise his reform agenda.

An IPSOS poll yesterday put support for his UMP party at 40 per cent, an improvement of 1.5 points compared to the last election in 2002, which the right won. The opposition Socialists and their allies were roughly unchanged at 28 percent.

The survey did not give a projection for the number of seats each party would secure in France's electoral system, which keeps many smaller parties out of parliament.

Today is a public holiday in France but it will be Sarkozy's first day at work.

Fillon's openness to negotiation with the unions is a key asset, and one that will be crucial in pushing through reforms.

Union leaders have already said that the fact Sarkozy won 53 percent of the vote in the May 6 presidential run-off ballot did not mean they had to accept the measures in his programme.

Sarkozy's cabinet, which is expected to be unveiled tomorrow, will also want to avoid a repeat of last year's botched youth labour reforms, which Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was forced to withdraw after nationwide protests.

Sarkozy has pledged to pick a streamlined cabinet of 15 ministers and has said that half the members will be women.

Speculation has mounted over who will occupy key posts, but most appointees remain unclear, the most likely pick being left-winger Bernard Kouchner for foreign minister, a surprise move that ties in with a pledge to focus on human rights.

The new prime minister will take over from Villepin, who has already resigned, today morning's handover ceremony.

Reuters>