The Jewishness of Nicholas Sarkozy, new president of France, seems to be much remarked upon in both the press (both Jewish and otherwise) these days. A quick google search also reveals that a number of blogs are bandying about conspiracy theories involving Sarkozy "the Jews" and power. Though I have been known to play the "who's Jewish game" I find the Jewifying of Sarkozy annoying and not only because I'm not particularly eager to claim him. Apart from being more Israel-friendly than the average French politician, Sarkozy does not seem to identify as Jewish in any cultural or religious sense and reportedly only found out fairly late in life that he was of Jewish ancestry. Add to this that said Jewish ancestry consists of a maternal grandfather (or great-grandfather, reports differ) who converted in order to marry Sarkozy's Catholic grandmother, it doesn't seem to me that Sarkozy is Jewish in any meaningful sense of the world.
(Something similar happened recently in the US too, come to think of it, once the whole George Allen macaca fiasco hit the internets people were pretty quick to dig up some long buried Jews in his family.) The idea that Sarkozy is Jewish reeks of a "one drop of blood" type of reasoning. As if Jewishness was some sort of quality that can never be erased, no matter how many non-Jewish ancestors you have. It bothers me (though does not surprise me) that this type of thinking still floating around Europe.
