No crisis without opportunity?

President Jacques Chirac just appointed Dominique de Villepin as France's new Prime Minister.

When I read last year Dominique de Villepin's book "Le Requin et la Mouette", I was positively impressed.

Way above the mediocre standard average politicians have got us acostumed to.

I even thought "well, if he makes it to the presidential race, maybe I'll vote for him!" (But let's not jump too fast, we'll see).

In the back page of the book, I wrote: "Omissions: Osirak, Chirac/Saddam in the 1970s (of course); NPT Nuclear Weapons States obligations under Article VI; French role in Israel nuclear weapons programme development; no mention of the role of agriculture export subsidies in blocking progress in poverty erradication and development". But the rest was really allright; and even inspiring sometimes.

And of course, we were all impressed (and proud as French people) when, as Foreign Affairs Minister, he took on Colin Powell and Bush at the UN Security Council in the winter of 2003.

With this French referendum on the EU Constitution, traditional political divides have exploded more than ever before; let's see what de Villepin makes of it.