Mara Carfagna elected into the Chamber of Deputies for Forza Italia, and in the 2008 elections – running as the third candidate from The People of Freedom in the district "Campania 2" – she was reelected. When she first entered parliament Berlusconi jokingly commented that Forza Italia practiced the law of primae noctis; the right of a feudal lord to take the virginity of his female subjects. As a deputy she was secretary of the Commission for Constitutional Affairs, and has been described as a diligent, hard-working parliamentarian. On May 8, 2008 she was appointed Minister for Equal Opportunity, in the fourth
Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a partnership to help Africa confront it. Konare's wife Adame Ba Konare also started a movement of promotion of African History following Sarkozy's speech. South African president Thabo Mbeki praised Sarkozy's speech and called him a "citizen of Africa", which raised criticism by some in the South African media. In 2004, Nicolas Sarkozy published a book called "La République, les religions, l'espérance" ("The Republic, Religions, and Hope"), in which he argued that the young should not be brought up solely on secular or republican values. He also advocated reducing the separation of church and state, arguing for the government