The outgoing French finance minister has been confirmed as the new head of President Jacques Chirac's governing party.
Nicolas Sarkozy, one of France's most popular politicians, is expected to use the appointment to build a power base to challenge Chirac, his former mentor, in 2007, the BBC reported Sunday.
Sarkozy won the leadership of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement Congress in Paris with 85 percent of the vote.
The charismatic 49-year-old succeeds Alain Juppe, a Chirac ally who was found guilty in a party financing scandal. The French press has been portraying the election as the coronation of Sarkozy, with one newspaper calling it the "Sarko Show," the BBC reported.
The son of a Hungarian immigrant, Sarkozy makes no secret of his desire to reach the top after serving as interior minister and, until Monday, finance chief.
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