Controversies surrounding Silvio Berlusconi being added to our list of Predators of Press Freedom", which would be a first for a European leader. He also added that Italy will probably be ranked last in the European Union in the upcoming edition of the RWB press freedom index. One of Berlusconi's strongest critics in the media outside Italy is the British weekly "The Economist" (nicknamed by Berlusconi ""The Ecommunist""), which in its issue of 26 April 2001 carried a title on its front cover, 'Why Silvio Berlusconi is unfit to lead Italy'. The war of words between Berlusconi and "The Economist" has gained notoriety, with
Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy The presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy began on 16 May 2007 when Nicolas Sarkozy became the sixth President of the French Fifth Republic, following his victory in the 2007 presidential election. A candidate of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), he nominated François Fillon as Prime minister, who formed a composite government, a bit modified following the UMP's relative victory during the June legislative election. Although the UMP had not obtained a majority as large as expected, Nicolas Sarkozy could launch the reforms he had pledged as a candidate as soon as he was elected.