Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...
Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...
Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...
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<strong>Neo</strong>-<strong>Bonapartism</strong>? A <strong>parallel</strong> <strong>between</strong> <strong>Nicolas</strong> <strong>Sarkozy</strong> <strong>and</strong> Napoleon III<br />
the Judaic institutions in France) that “Communism <strong>and</strong> Nazism are alike” (at this point, it is<br />
interesting to underline the President of the European Parliament’s assimilation of “the Nazi<br />
genocide with the Communist brutal oppression” (Liphshiz, 2010). Again, the familial historical<br />
backstage of both of the Emperor <strong>and</strong> the President (<strong>and</strong> what it implies in terms of early - that<br />
is strong - socialization) is one (among many other likely) source of causality. Napoleon III is at<br />
this regard simply shared the Bonapartist ideological st<strong>and</strong>point which was transmitted to him<br />
by his tutor Phillipe Le Bas (Thompson, 1955) according to whom Communism meant the end of<br />
the Napoleonic tradition, being therefore in complete contradiction with his family’s – in<br />
extenso his own– interests. <strong>Sarkozy</strong> as well inherited of a familial burden he still carries on<br />
(since this affair is still not resolved in Hungary). In point of fact, <strong>Sarkozy</strong>’s biographers recently<br />
unveiled the fact that the Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa family was driven out of the country bloodily<br />
by the Red Army in 1944 <strong>and</strong> expropriated of all of its possessions (either their chateaux or<br />
agricultural l<strong>and</strong>s near Budapest). The Communists thus exiled the <strong>Sarkozy</strong>s from Hungary;<br />
France welcomed in the 1950s the father of their soon-to-become 23 rd President.<br />
Finally both of the 21 st century President <strong>and</strong> the 19 th century Emperor elbowed in <strong>and</strong><br />
evolved toward supreme power through disturbed waters. Their respective pre-power paths<br />
were not straight <strong>and</strong> narrow but rather full of disturbances <strong>and</strong> miscellaneous obstacles which<br />
stood in their ways, to the extent that at some times the success of their undertaking seemed<br />
thoughtfully endangered. In fact, <strong>and</strong> to start with, Napoleon III is a case of rare occurrence in<br />
the history of French politics. His childhood, adolescence, <strong>and</strong> early adulthood were spent in<br />
exile; because of the state-ban imposed on his family. Starting from January 1816, he was<br />
buffeted throughout Europe (Italy, Switzerl<strong>and</strong>, Germany, United Kingdom…) for an extended<br />
A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/<br />
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