During the electoral campaign X had promised "profound change" and "a break with the past." ... As press accounts emphasized, X seemed to possess the institutional power necessary for the introduction of substantial change. ... X and his conservative coalition controlled [most] of the seats in the National Assembly. ... X assembled his cabinet and began attempting to deliver on his campaign promises. ... X's extraordinary "voluntarism"--what Americans might call his "can-do" style--aroused a variety of expectations ...
Of course you recognized Jacques Chirac, in the description of John Keeler and Martin Schain in the introduction to Chirac's Challenge, published in 1996. They went on:
After a year in office, the expectations aroused by the president's voluntarist style
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.. would prove difficult to fulfill. ... [He] ignored the need for sacrifice and jeopardized the chances for economic growth. ... It rapidly became clear that, as president, Chirac would have a dfficult time retaining the breadth or depth of support he was able to generate as a candidate. Detached analysts stressed that his economic program was contrary in the extreme. ... The early conflicts within the new government [soon] came to a head. ...