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By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Featured Stories | Foreign Affairs — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

The next French Foreign Minister will not be Hubert Védrine

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to pick maverick left-winger Bernard Kouchner as foreign minister, a move that would back up his campaign pledge to put human rights at the heart of France's diplomacy.

Kouchner, an outspoken former health minister and ex-U.N. governor of Kosovo, is one of France's most popular figures, largely due to humanitarian work which includes co-founding the Nobel Peace Prize-winning aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Another former leftist minister, Bernard Tapie, told French radio on Wednesday Kouchner appeared to have accepted the post, despite sharp criticism from Socialist leaders who have accused Sarkozy of trying to use the appointment to divide their party.

"I have the impression that it's yes and I think it's a good recruitment for the president and it's a very good thing for Kouchner," said Tapie.

It would be the first time a president has named someone from a different camp to such a senior post -- a coup for Sarkozy as he bids to belie his reputation as an uncompromising rightist, but a strategy which contains risks.

Kouchner has the reputation of being impulsive, and some political analysts foresee possible problems for him working alongside Sarkozy, who has the ultimate say in foreign affairs.

"He's capable of storming out of the job. We don't know whether it will last," said political analyst Henri Rey. "There is indeed a risk that the contract will be a short-term one, that he won't accept certain compromises."

However, Kouchner, a doctor, has also shown himself to be a pragmatist by accepting the job even though he criticized Sarkozy during the campaign.

When Sarkozy said he planned to set up a ministry for immigration and national identity, Kouchner said he had "no shame fishing in the waters of the extreme right".

To say that Sarkozy is "extreme" is to engage, of course, in a laughable overstatement. But never mind that for now. Consider instead the fact that Kouchner seems to be more open minded than many people on his side of the political divide:

Kouchner was one of the rare French politicians who spoke out in favor of a military intervention in Iraq in 2003, saying he was against war but also against Saddam Hussein's regime.

Who knows? This could be one of the more interesting and improbably successful political partnerships around.