Nicolas Sarkozy opts for a less showy woman to craft winning image

The early years of his presidency are remembered as much for his women as for his politics, with a high-profile divorce and supermodel marriage. Now, as Nicolas Sarkozy bids for a second term as France's leader, another woman has emerged at the heart of his court.

With his wife Carla Bruni being instructed to withdraw from the limelight during the election campaign, Mr Sarkozy has opted for a more practical and less showy woman to help craft a winning image.

Enter Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the understated, Boho-dressed spin doctor credited with ridding the president of his "bling" persona and toning down his aggressive posturing. Against all the considerable odds, and the advice of some of his closest lieutenants, it is an approach that seems to be paying off.

"Sarkozy really likes her," said Brice Hortefeux, former interior minister and one of Mr Sarkozy's closest friends. "She's done everything possible to make things go well."

Indeed, polls show that Mr Sarkozy has managed to move from being the most unpopular president since the Second World War to being the likely winner of Sunday's first round. While many indicate that his Socialist challenger, Francois Hollande, would still win in a second round, due to be held on May 6, the gap between the men is clearly narrowing.

And this, in part, is due to the rhetorical skills, fresh image and technological savvy of his 38-year-old spokeswoman - described by Le Monde as "smiling, yet abrupt; sophisticated, yet able to hold her own in expletive-filled conversations".

Miss Kosciusko-Morizet even has the privilege of addressing him with the informal "tu", something seized on by the French press as evidence of their close working relationship. Some have even speculated that this rising star of the UMP, Mr Sarkozy's party, could be being groomed to be France's first female president.

But first, they have to win the election.

While he was initially ridiculed for his Rolex watches, fine dining and luxury holidays, Mr Sarkozy's team have shifted the focus from his flashy lifestyle to his handling of law and order, immigration and France's financial deficit. He has presented himself as the best-placed candidate to handle the eurozone crisis, and as the only one with the necessary gravitas to lead France through the turbulent economic times.

His advisers have also emphasised the 57-year-old leader's strong relationships with world leaders, publishing transcripts of a conversation with Barack Obama on Thursday, in which the French President told his American counterpart, who is also facing re-election: "We will win, you and me."

This helps paint a rather more diplomatic picture of the man who told David Cameron to "shut up" over the euro crisis, and dismissed a French farmer with the words "Get lost, you stupid b******".

True, keeping Mr Sarkozy completely gaffe-free has proved impossible. Only last Thursday, he told a rally that he had visited the stricken Japanese nuclear plant of Fukushima, forcing embarrassed aides to admit that he never left Tokyo. But with the odd glitch aside, Miss Kosciusko-Morizet does seem to have softened the notoriously abrasive leader.

Crucially, she has also managed to land a few punches on his rival. Miss Kosciusko-Morizet issued the dire warning, which echoed for several days in the French press, that Mr Hollande would bring economic ruin and turn France into "the next Greece". The Socialist candidate has pledged to employ 60,000 more teachers, return the retirement age from 62 to 60 and increase taxes on banks. "Here is a candidate who is in denial about the existence of the financial crisis and the neglect of France," she said in Le Figaro. "His programme is all about overseeing the decline of our country."

Part of her success in revitalising the president's image is that she is seen as an outsider, unencumbered with the years of political baggage that drag down other figures. She is noted for being technologically ahead of her colleagues: she is the most "followed" female political figure on Twitter, with 145,000 people reading her frequent updates. Mr Sarkozy has 153,000 followers and Front National agitator Marine Le Pen is the only other woman to come close, with 59,000.

Her career has not been without its gaffes, however. She was ridiculed for not knowing how much a ticket cost on the Paris metro - she guessed euros 4 (pounds 3.30) instead of euros 1.70 - and was laughed at for saying she would vote for Mr Hollande rather than Miss Le Pen, if forced to chose.

In 2008 she enraged the president by greeting an anti-GM activist with a kiss, and by calling senior UMP figures "cowardly and inelegant", obsessed with their own petty squabbles, infighting and covering up their personal failings. The comments, in an interview with Le Monde, earned a sharp rebuke from the Elysee - but were popular with the public. Mr Sarkozy appears to have realised the value of having an energetic, plain-speaking young woman by his side, and soon brought her back into his fold.

He made her minister of ecology, sustainable development, transport and housing before, in February, nominating her as his spokeswoman.

Her treatment contrasts with the fate of other high-profile women in the centre-right UMP government, including Rachida Dati, former justice minister, and Rama Yade, former sports minister, who were unceremoniously cast into the political wilderness after falling foul of Mr Sarkozy

"I get on really well with him," Miss Kosciusko-Morizet said. "I like his directness. He does what he says."

Miss Kosciusko-Morizet was born to an affluent bohemian family in Paris, studied biology and graduated from the national school of forestry, water and rural management.

With her artfully dishevelled chignon and relaxed uniform of trousers and silk tunics, she is far removed from power-dressers such as Miss Dati and Mr Sarkozy's wife. But for all her emphasis on her bohemian background, Miss Kosciusko-Morizet is from decidedly establishment stock. Her grandfather was a resistance hero who become French ambassador to Washington. Her father, Francois, has been the UMP mayor of the affluent Paris commuter town of Sevres since 1995, and her brother, Pierre, formed a multi-million online trading firm.

Miss Kosciusko-Morizet is married to Jean-Pierre Philippe, whom she describes as a "reformed leftist militant", and lives in Longpont-sur-Orge, close to Longjumeau, where she is mayor.

No one doubts that if Mr Sarkozy is re-elected Miss Kosciusko-Morizet will have her loyalty rewarded with a serious ministerial post. But while her rise has put some colleagues' noses out of joint, nobody should mistake the quiet demeanour for a soft touch.

"As people, we get on well," said Olivier Thomas, who was her rival for the post of mayor of Longjumeau. "She plays a lot with seduction but, as soon as there are any contradictions, she can become quite threatening."