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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Mark Rice-Oxley

Sarkozy – the comeback kid?

Nicolas Sarkozy could be re-elected
Elected leaders have a habit of languishing in the polls only to claw back ground at the last minute. Photograph: Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

What is the best election comeback ever? John Major in 1992? Binyamin Netanyahu in 1996? Jacques Chirac in 1995? Spain's Zapatero in 2004?

I've read that Harry Truman in 1948 was pretty special, overhauling a double-digit deficit.

I only ask, because it might be about to happen in France.

Elected leaders have a habit of languishing in the polls only to claw back ground at the last minute as the public ultimately opt for a better-the-devil-you-know vote.

Latest polls show Nicolas Sarkozy is ahead in the first round vote on 22 April, and is closing the gap on François Hollande in the second round 6 May run-off.

This year, 2012, could yet go down as the year of the incumbent …

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