Villepin above Sarkozy in poll

FORMER PM Dominique de Villepin has received a boost to his presidential ambitions with a poll putting him 19 points ahead of Nicolas Sarkozy in terms of popularity.

Free of the Clearstream Affair which cleared him of involvement in a smear campaign against Sarkozy, Villepin has been making public appearances, shaking hands and handling livestock - an image which could be seen as a ploy to make him look like the true successor to Jacques Chirac.

Chirac’s current popularity is at levels he could only have dreamed of while in power, boosted by voters’ nostalgia for a leader who likes the traditional ‘French’ pursuits of wine, farming and history, instead of a teetotal president whose hobby is jogging.

For the moment this is working for Villepin who received a 57% positive approval rating compared to Sarkozy’s 38%, in an Ifop poll for Paris Match.

A Villepin candidacy could potentially unseat Sarkozy.

If the left plays a strong candidate (ie Dominique Strauss-Kahn), Villepin need only get a tiny percentage higher than the president in the first round to knock him out of the running for the second.

However he is highly unlikely to get the backing of his party to do this. The same poll found UMP supporters gave an 85% approval rating to Sarkozy, meaning Villepin must run as an independent.

A popularity contest in 2010, of course, does not translate into votes in 2012, so Sarkozy need not worry yet.

He might want to muck-in a bit more on camera however. These sort of dirty tricks play well with voters.