Surviving without leading: Jacques Chirac

Knapp, A. (2013) Surviving without leading: Jacques Chirac. In: Bell, D. S. and Gaffney, J. (eds.) The Presidents of the French Fifth Republic. French politics society and culture . Palgrave, Basingstoke, pp. 159-180. ISBN 9780230285224

Abstract/Summary

The presidency of Jacques Chirac in France (1995-2007) was scarred by two crushing defeats: the parliamentary elections of 25 May and 1 June 1997, and the referendum on the European Constitution of 29 May 2005. As both were highly personal setbacks, since both votes were taken at Chirac’s initiative they suggest that a dominant presidential position, twice won, was twice squandered owing to a failure of leadership. This chapter argues, firstly, that the weaknesses of the presidency arose chiefly from the three decades of Chirac’s career before the 1995 election – and, secondly, that Chirac’s record of presidential leadership, though limited, is more substantial than these two major failures suggest.