Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy AP PHOTO

A day after officially announcing his bid for the presidency, Sarkozy portrayed himself as a man of action with a sympathetic ear for the downtrodden.

In a television interview the 51-year-old Sarkozy laid out his presidential program -- although he has not been officially nominated by his party, the governing Union for a Popular Movement. The choice is set for Jan. 14, but no one doubts that it will be Sarkozy.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 9, 2006
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