Remember me? HER husband, Jacques Chirac, a former French president, may be long gone from public life, but Bernadette Chirac remains a wily political operator. So when she speaks out, it is usually worth paying attention. Twice recently she has announced that “of course” Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr Chirac’s Gaullist successor, will run again for president in 2017.Mrs Chirac’s latest aside came on February 14th on “Le Petit Journal”, a satirical television show that has spent much time mocking the former First Lady. When shown a photograph of Mr Sarkozy, she grinned like a love-struck teenager. Would he run again? “Yes,” she replied without missing a beat. She said the same on the radio a few weeks ago.When Mr Sarkozy was defeated in 2012 by the Socialist François Hollande, he promised to disappear from public view. This always seemed improbable. Mr Sarkozy is not temperamentally suited to retirement. A political showman with a highly competitive personality, he seemed unlikely to rest until he had had a chance of evicting the man who ousted him.Since 2012, Mr Sarkozy has mostly kept a low profile in France, jetting…
