During the campaign, his opponents called him "dangerous" and "brutal". They even threatened riots if he won. But France's new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has in his first week disarmed critics with an artful mix of political inclusiveness, policy creativity and symbolic renewal. It is hard to overstate the impact of the choice of Bernard Kouchner, a man of the left and a hugely popular humanitarian champion, as foreign minister (see box on next page). Had Mr Kouchner been lured into a minor ministerial job in a government of the right, the bridge-building symbolism would still have been clear. By giving him foreign affairs, France's public face to the world, Mr Sarkozy has deftly undercut his leftist opponents.
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