Arnie finds promises hard to keep

On the campaign trail, Arnold Schwarzenegger laid out a bold plan of action for California, promising to wipe out the state’s budget crisis and sweep away a decadent political culture.

Less than one month into his term, though, Schwarzenegger finds himself already breaking some campaign promises, while struggling to fulfil others.

“He raised all kinds of expectations he couldn’t possibly deliver on,” said Shaun Bowler, a political science professor at the University of California at Riverside. “He was doomed to fail in some ways. He couldn’t match expectations.”

Schwarzenegger’s allies dispute that he is backtracking, and analysts agree the Hollywood action hero has had a largely successful first month.

That includes winning tentative approval for a plan asking voters to borrow $15bn (€12bn) and impose a spending cap – though the cap is not as firm as Schwarzenegger would have liked.

In other respects, he has not delivered. For example, Schwarzenegger had pledged never to target education when cutting spending to balance the budget. But he conceded this week he might have to suspend a key school funding guarantee.

Meanwhile, his key campaign pledge for an outside audit of the state’s books failed to find the large-scale waste or fraud that he suggested was there. Schwarzenegger insists the audit is continuing, and more details from the analysis will emerge.

The governor has also abandoned a pledge to hire private investigators to examine campaign allegations that he groped women over several years, saying the probe would only be used as political fodder.

And he is also raising millions from powerful backers, despite announcing in August at the start of his campaign: “I don’t need to take money from anybody.” Schwarzenegger has four fund-raisers scheduled this month.

The new governor did keep a key promise – to repeal the state’s €4bn (€3.2bn) increase in the car tax. It was his first official act as governor.