A conversation in Purgatory

Nicolas Sarkozy and Hugo Chavez appear to have little in common. The former resembles a fox, the latter a bear. The President of France is a darling of the Right, the President of Venezuela is a hero of the Left. President Sarkozy admires the United States, President Chavez loathes it. But, come their time in Politicians' Purgatory, they may end up discovering more than one common interest.

Since December, President Sarkozy's relationship with the former super-model Carla Bruni has been official. However, although nothing official has been confirmed, some observers have noted that, since September, former super-model Naomi Campbell has been visiting Venezuela - and President Chavez - regularly. Her photos are spread over the front pages of the newspapers.

The two special, private friendships have a public dimension. The holidays with Ms Bruni, not to mention her expressed attitudes to relationships, are said to have contributed to President Sarkozy's recent drop in popularity and may also affect the performance of his political party in the March local elections.

The friendship with Ms Campbell, it is speculated, may have contributed to President Chavez's loss in the referendum held recently - a referendum intended to greatly strengthen his political position. He had some negative publicity when his wife let it be known that she supported the opposition...

It would be intrusive to comment further on these relationships, if there was not a well-founded suspicion, in both cases, that these relationships were being used by both men to steer public attention away from certain issues.

President Sarkozy began to be seen in public with Ms Bruni just when some negotiations with social partners were entering a delicate phase. President Chavez has no particular news he needs to bury but there are plenty of developments in Venezuela that need to be sweetened with rosy gossip. It was Amerigo Vespucci who called the land little Venice - hence the name Venezuela - after seeing houses built on pontoons rising above the water. I myself have had a special affection for the country since a first, memorable visit in 1994.

Poverty was painfully visible. The beautiful road to the capital, Caracas, meandering through the sloping Andes, was alas covered with shacks, thousands of them, made with anything to hand. They were occupied by ex-rancheros, farmers looking for work in the city, where about a fifth of the population lives.

But work was scarce and poverty was rampant. The crime level was so high that I was told that I was at all times to remain with my guide. Even the main roads and public squares were full of armed policemen - a constant reminder that I was in a dangerous city. In the zones where foreign embassies were located, there were heavily armed soldiers at every corner.

President Chavez was elected as a friend of the poor, with many of whom he remains popular. However, it is a waning popularity since the crime levels and the standard of living are getting worse, despite soaring oil revenues.

Food shortages include basic commodities like milk and meat. What is available is also subject to rationing. It may take a full supermarket trolley of goods to earn you the right to one kilo of powdered milk. The crime rate now is so high that anyone with even a moderate standard of living feels insecure. The nightmare is that of being kidnapped for a ransom. Nearly everyone with a moderate standard of living needs to pay protection money to avoid organised crime arranging a kidnapping, with the victim then being sold to the Colombian terrorist organisation FARC, or else to a paramilitary group. The ransom demands may run into millions of dollars.

It is this grim situation that has partly enabled President Chavez to have some mediating influence with FARC - an influence he put to good use when negotiating the recent release of Colombian prisoners that were being held by the group. But this did not go down well in Venezuela since at least 70 Venezuelans are still held captives in the jungles of Colombia.President Sarkozy, of course, had some role in the Libyan amnesty granted the Bulgarian and Palestinian medics last year, although I am not sure whether, in conversation with President Chavez, he would be inclined to rake up memories of his then-wife Cecilia's part in the episode.

Their conversation may come to an abrupt halt when it touches immigration. As Home Affairs Minister, Mr Sarkozy was known for his hard stance against it and won crucial votes for this populist stand. Mr Chavez is widely suspected to have granted innumerable Venezuelan ID cards to immigrants from neighbouring countries, especially Colombia - and this has naturally strengthened his electoral base.

On the other hand, it could be that the conversation really takes off when they come to evaluate their respective contributions to history. Both are motivated by a strong drive to revolutionise the political process in both their country and beyond. Yet, both seem on the way to substitute media stardom for real change. Will this happen and would they regret it?

No saint myself, I may also end up in that part of Purgatory reserved for politicians. And in such a case, I will do my best to bend my historian's ear to catch what these two major politicians of our time do end up saying to each other. Watch this space.

Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.