RACHIDA Dati, France's glamorous justice minister, is this week campaigning for a council position in Paris and once again raising eyebrows among the city's conservative types.
This tough-talking daughter of North African immigrants may be the well-dressed figurehead for Nicolas Sarkozy's "Rainbow Government" (she is the first person of Arab heritage to hold a key ministerial position in the French Cabinet), but her short t
ime in government has already required the minister to navigate some stormy political seas.
Her North African background has allowed her to play a key role in tackling the often volatile racial tensions in Paris – after the 2005 riots in the French suburbs, when Sarkozy called the rioters, some of whom were of North African origin, "scum", Dati was brought in to carry on behind-the-scenes damage limitation as Sarkozy faced accusations of racism.
But despite this – and while the president clearly appreciates glamorous women, having praised the way Dati, 42, stands out from "those grey-haired men ranked together like peas in a pod" – not all his countrymen appreciate her glamour and taste for the finer things in life.
Last December, as lawyers chained themselves to courthouses and accused her of "destroying the fabric of the French justice system" with her plans to cut the number of the country's tribunals, she provoked outrage when she posed in a Dior dress and high-heeled boots for Paris Match magazine. Dati, a graduate in law and politics, was condemned for showing "frivolity in the face of hardship" by Bruno Thouzellier, president of the Syndical Union of Judges.
Despite her modest upbringing – one of 12 children, Dati's mother died when she was young, leaving her to care for her siblings – Dati sees nothing wrong with displaying her enthusiasm for designer fashion. Questioned about her love for Prada, Chanel and Dior, she told Paris Match: "Ever since I was little I had a taste for being well dressed. It's a question of showing respect towards others."
After the piece appeared, Élisabeth Guigou, a former justice minister, also had a warning for Dati: "You have to be careful about glamour images. Since your nomination, people are a little too interested in the anecdotal side of your personality." Guigou should know what she's talking about: in the 1990s, she was nicknamed the "Barbie Doll Minister" – a title now bestowed on Dati.
The president is keen that Dati and other members of his cabinet should strengthen their political credibility by putting themselves forward for a post which is appointed via public election. Dati is expected to take the relatively safe council post in the upmarket 7th arrondissement on Paris's Left Bank.
However, many older residents in the staunchly conservative district are upset that she has been placed ahead of Michel Dumont, the popular local mayor, on the list for Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement.
It seems more storms are ahead.
The full article contains 490 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
