Carla Bruni Says She Hopes Nicolas Sarkozy Won't Run for a Second Term
"The balance, happiness and health of my man are serious subjects," Ms Bruni said in a magazine interview. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Carla Bruni, the wife of Nicolas Sarkozy, hopes that he will decide not to run in 2012 for a second term because she fears for his health under the pressure of the job, she said in an interview released today.

Ms Bruni, 42, also said that she despised media which this month published unsubstantiated rumours about the state of her marriage with the French President.

The singer-supermodel said that the "media-political world" was brutal towards Mr Sarkozy, 55. "The balance, happiness and health of my man are serious subjects. I am going through this moment of life with a lot of worry.

Asked if she wanted Mr Sarkozy to run for the next presidential election, in April 2012, she said: "As a wife, I don't really want him to. Perhaps I am afraid he will let his health go. Perhaps I wish to live what time we have left in some peace?"

Mr Sarkozy is gong through a stressful period in mid-term, especially since voters expressed their displeasure with his administration by routing his Union for a Popular Movement in national regional council elections this month. The cover of today's Le Point, a leading news magazine, was devoted to "The Tragedy of Sarkozy". His only sign of poor health so far came last summer when he fainted after jogging.

Interviewed by Madame Figaro magazine, Ms Bruni, who married the President in 2008, two months after meeting him, spoke of her loathing for newspapers that published internet gossip suggesting that both she and her husband were being unfaithful. "I despise so-called journalists who use blogs as a credible source. I despise rumours that come from an Internet blog signed 'Mickey Mouse' or 'Superman'," she added. Read on and comment >>> Charles Bremner, Paris | Thursday, March 25, 2010

GALA.fr: Son mari, sa bataille : Dans une interview au Figaro Magazine, Carla-Bruni Sarkozy fait un voeu pour 2012: pas de second mandat pour son mari. Parce que, travailler plus, c'est parfois vivre moins bien. >>> J.-F.T. | Jeudi 25 Mars 2010

Sócrates Wins Second Term in Portugal
FINANCIAL TIMES: José Sócrates, Portugal’s Socialist prime minister, was re-elected to a second term in the general election on Sunday, but his centre-left party lost its overall majority in parliament.

Mr Sócrates is expected to form a minority government and seek support for a government programme and the 2010 budget with parties to both the left and right.

However, his failure to win a comfortable majority raised the prospect of political instability and a weak government that could fall before completing a four-year term.

Only two minority administrations have survived a full term since Portugal returned to democracy in 1974. Before Mr Sócrates’ election in May 2005, the country had three governments in three years.

The Socialists won 37 per cent of the vote, down from 45 per cent in the previous election in February 2005. The centre-right Social Democrats (PSD), the main opposition party, polled 29 per cent, roughly equal to their previous result.

The Socialists’ clear win was a significant personal victory for Mr Sócrates, 52, whose popularity had been damaged by economic recession, scandal and unpopular reforms. >>> Peter Wise in Lisbon | Sunday, September 27, 2009

Related:
Smoke ban PM lights up on plane >>> Graham Keeley, The Guardian | Friday, May 16, 2009

Ahmadinejad Sworn in for 2nd Term as Iran’s President
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran addressed the parliament after being sworn into a second term as president. Photo: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: BEIRUT, Lebanon — With his adversaries shunning the ceremony and security forces on the streets, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn into office for a second term Wednesday, almost two months after elections that divided the nation and sparked Iran’s deepest crisis since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago.

Protests erupted outside the parliament building as he was inaugurated, with several people arrested and police using pepper spray to disperse demonstrators, according to news reports. Severe reporting restrictions in Iran hindered efforts to gauge the scale of the demonstration.

The official IRNA news agency said there was no “disturbance of the peace” on major streets and traffic circles in the Iranian capital during the inauguration, The Associated Press reported, quoting witnesses as saying at least 10 people were detained by police.

Witnesses said the detainees included protesters in black T-shirts in a show of grief over Mr. Ahmadinejad’s inauguration, The A.P. said. The state-run broadcaster Press TV said more than 5,000 members of the security and police forces had gathered around the parliament building while officers with sniffer dogs patrolled the area.

In a relatively low-key speech, news reports said, Mr. Ahmadinejad attacked foreign detractors, appealed for national unity, pledged a “stronger” foreign policy with “more effective new plans” and said he would “spare no effort to safeguard the frontiers of Iran.”

Speaking from a podium bedecked with yellow flowers, he did not directly allude to the huge street protests that have riven Iranian society since opposition leaders accused the authorities of rigging the June 12 election in which Mr. Ahmadinejad was awarded an overwhelming victory. His election was formally endorsed earlier this week by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Wednesday, Mr. Ahmadinejad urged national unity, saying: "We should join hands as we move forward to fulfill our goals,” The A.P. reported. He said his government would “resist any violation of law and interference.”

“We will not remain silent, we will not tolerate disrespect, interference and insults,” he said. >>> By ROBERT F. WORTH and ALAN COWELL | Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Rebel Boycott as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Endorses Ahmadinejad Re-election
TIMES ONLINE: Iran’s supreme leader has formally endorsed President Ahmadinejad for a second term amid a boycott by leading opposition figures.

State television broadcast images of the ceremony today with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei giving the President his seal of approval.

The country’s opposition leaders and moderates boycotted the gathering in protest over the election they claim was fraudulent.

State media reported that the former presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami as well as the defeated pro-reform candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi did not attend.

On Wednesday the President will take the oath of office before Iran’s parliament. Seven weeks after the election, however, the regime is still battling to crush the resistance of millions of Iranians who believe that the poll was rigged.

A new wave of protests linked is gathering over the “show trial” of more than 100 opposition figures detained in the crackdown that followed the ballot.

On Saturday, in an apparent effort to deter further protests, Iran put scores of opponents on trial in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, accusing them of conspiring with foreign powers to stage a revolution. Yesterday it added ten more defendants. >>> Martin Fletcher | Monday, August 03, 2009