Nicolas Sarkozy knows that if he is to clinch his first-place victory and fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming president he must achieve a makeover in the next two weeks.

The radical conservative must shed his image as a political gun-slinger and reassure the millions who are worried that his high-octane personality will make it difficult for him to unite a troubled country.

A lawyer and Gaullist politician since his early 20s, Mr Sarkozy, 52, won credit for dynamic and tough leadership as Interior Minister for most of the past five years. However, his often harsh rhetoric has turned him into a hate figure for swaths of the population, especially among the young and the children of Arab and African immigrants, who took out their frustration by rioting on poor housing estates in 2005. The left-wing demonisation of “Sarko” intensified last month when he swung to the Right to woo sympathisers of Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the National Front. He campaigned on patriotism and pledged that he would defend “French identity” from dilution by immigrants. Ségolène Royal, his Socialist opponent, and his other rivals all homed in on Mr Sarkozy’s alienating image, saying his presidency would polarise the country with “brutal” policies that would turn French against the French.

To soften his abrasive image, Mr Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant and with Greek-Jewish roots on his mother’s side, has recast himself as a “little Frenchman of mixed blood” and will undoubtedly expand on this as he seeks to convince doubters that he has the wisdom and serenity to heal the country’s woes.

Mr Sarkozy will also hammer the theme of experience, arguing that with a Cabinet career that began in 1993 and five years as Deputy Prime Minister, he is by far the more seasoned politician in the run-off.

Mr Sarkozy’s lead throughout the first-round race was a sign that, despite qualms about his character, a sizeable section of the country backs his radical ideas for pulling France out of its relative stagnation.

Although he has reverted somewhat to social-minded Gaullism in recent weeks, he is proposing a break with France’s tradition of high welfare spending and the rigid protection of the labour market which contributes to the country’s high unemployment.

While Ms Royal and the others have campaigned on multiple issues, Mr Sarkozy has promoted one simple theme: work more to earn more. This translates as a loosening of the 35-hour maximum working week, and British-style curbs on unemployment benefits.

Mr Sarkozy’s pragmatic, plain-spoken approach marks a break with the socially inclusive doctrines of President Chirac, the mentor with whom he has long been in conflict.

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