He has a criminal record for corruption and as prime minister in the 1990s caused France's worst unrest since May 1968 with a failed austerity push. Two decades on, opinion polls show he is the country's most respected politician in office, reports Newsweek.
Forget Nicolas Sarkozy: France's real come-back story is Alain Juppé, who at 69 has gradually emerged as a serious conservative candidate for president in 2017.
Quite how a politician hitting 70 and with such a chequered past can be a contender to lead a G7 industrial nation puzzles many. Yet it speaks volumes about a lack of public faith in the younger generation of leaders from left and right who seem unable to halt the slow decline in France's fortunes.
Juppé's window of opportunity for the Elysée Palace has been opened both by the record-low popularity of its present occupant, socialist François Hollande, and the lingering aversion of many French to conservative ex-president Sarkozy, who came out of retirement last month to prepare his own campaign for a new term.
That has allowed Juppé, currently mayor of the southwest city of Bordeaux, to portray himself as best-placed to win over enough middle-of-the-road voters to ward off the presidential bid of the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen.
Among the policies he advocates are freeing France from what he calls the "straitjacket" of the 35-hour work week; a rise in the statutory age of retirement from 62 to 65; and a reduction of the headcount of France's huge public sector.
For now, such reform plans do not seem to put off the French: an Ifop poll published in Paris Match magazine this month found 63 percent had a "good opinion" of Juppé, the highest rating for any politician currently in office.
Read more of this Reuters report published by Newsweek.