The Baguette Pipe-Dream
The French don't seem to get it. They talk nice and things sound good - but when it comes to practice they are weasels. A good point to observe this was last weekends referendum on the European constitution. The French voted against adopting the proposed constitution, killing the prospect of establishing a European constitution for the foreseeable future.
Now remember the last few years: Talk of a new world order, the European Union (EU) as a power center in the world (the others being the US and China), the EU as a mediator and supporter to the sensical approach to world politics, guided by higher standards of morale in politics. All that of course under the leadership of the French.
Well, you can surely shoot yourself in the foot, and the French appear to be masters in that discipline. Not only did they kill of all the ideas mentioned above, they also disqualified themselves as leaders in Europe. I already see some European conventions where proposals by the French can be rejected by ...... (Spain/Sweden/Slovenia/Malta...fill in your favorite EU country) just by referencing their fast adoption of the EU constitution. I'd love to see the faces of the French delegation when that happens. :-))
Of course the EU will remain strong. France will lose some of its influence and its 'moral' leadership. The empty power spot left by France will be filled by some other country, probably Spain, Poland or Sweden or shared between those countries. The center of the EU may also shift, away from the French-German center to some other area, away from its western border. And the French can thank themselves for that.
But the biggest twist in the story is that the French gave a moral victory to the man they love to hate. President Bush is certainly pleased with the referendum: It clearly showed the world that trusting the French is not really wise, your fate is much better if you trust an established power such as the US. And it showed that people riding high on the wave of popularism fall deep and leave a broken promises behind.
Now remember the last few years: Talk of a new world order, the European Union (EU) as a power center in the world (the others being the US and China), the EU as a mediator and supporter to the sensical approach to world politics, guided by higher standards of morale in politics. All that of course under the leadership of the French.
Well, you can surely shoot yourself in the foot, and the French appear to be masters in that discipline. Not only did they kill of all the ideas mentioned above, they also disqualified themselves as leaders in Europe. I already see some European conventions where proposals by the French can be rejected by ...... (Spain/Sweden/Slovenia/Malta...fill in your favorite EU country) just by referencing their fast adoption of the EU constitution. I'd love to see the faces of the French delegation when that happens. :-))
Of course the EU will remain strong. France will lose some of its influence and its 'moral' leadership. The empty power spot left by France will be filled by some other country, probably Spain, Poland or Sweden or shared between those countries. The center of the EU may also shift, away from the French-German center to some other area, away from its western border. And the French can thank themselves for that.
But the biggest twist in the story is that the French gave a moral victory to the man they love to hate. President Bush is certainly pleased with the referendum: It clearly showed the world that trusting the French is not really wise, your fate is much better if you trust an established power such as the US. And it showed that people riding high on the wave of popularism fall deep and leave a broken promises behind.
posted by PW at 5:54 PM
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