The Washington Post has an article up by Molly Moore, carrying the title: “New Leadership Trio Could Put Europe Back on Political Map.” Subtitle: “Merkel, Sarkozy and Brown Seen Reenergizing Region.” Indeed: very, very positive (almost overly positive in my humble opinion). One thing that has to be mentioned: Brown? Brown reenergizes the region? We are talking about Gordon Brown, right?
Brown is quite unpopular. Both with Tories ánd with Labor voters.
That being said, Molly’s article provides for a good, interesting read.
Europe is undergoing its most dramatic changing of the guard in more than a decade. New leaders in the European Union’s three preeminent countries — Britain, France and Germany — not only may transform their nations individually but also have the collective clout to blast Europe out of its lethargy and revitalize it as a global and diplomatic powerhouse.
“They could get the European heart beating again,” said François Heisbourg, a foreign policy analyst at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.
All three new European leaders are replacing predecessors who had become national and international liabilities. Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, took over the presidency of France on Wednesday from septuagenarian Jacques Chirac, who served 12 years. Gordon Brown, 56, will become prime minister of Britain on June 27 when Tony Blair leaves after 10 years. And Angela Merkel, 53, was named chancellor of Germany in 2005, after Gerhard Schroeder’s seven years in power.
The new axis of leaders is expected to moderate Europe’s relationship with the United States, striking a more evenhanded tone than the emotionalism of Blair’s perceived subservience or Chirac’s hostility, many analysts here say.
The expected result: “In this view, a new U.S. president in less than two years could work with a more united, engaged Europe to leverage Middle East peace efforts, persuade Iran to curtail its nuclear ambitions and negotiate with Russia over contentious energy issues.”
Of course, that sounds nice and all but, as Molly points out, Europe has its own internal problems: the Constitution was turned down, both in France and in the Netherlands, many citizens object to the rapid expansion of the EU (from 15 to 27 member states in only three years time), many Europeans fear that Turkey will become a member, which they do not want, and, finally, there is a lot of debate about what the role of the EU exactly should be. How much power should the EU have, how much sovereignty should member states give up?
An interesting change in France’s policies is / will be that Sarkozy’s administration will, most likely, support Israel ánd America. France under Chirac was, of course, pro-Arab and anti-Israel, and of the main Western critics of the US. Sarkozy is a completely different politician and is expected to be a completely different president than Chirac (was).
I have to say that I am quite a fan of Sarkozy and, to a lesser degree, of Merkel as well. I don’t have much faith in Gordon Brown (like most of the British themselves), but the first two are two great politicians who seem to be dedicated and strong. It is interesting to see that, although Molly does mention Brown at the very start of the article, she does not refer to him anymore after the first few paragraphs. The reason? Well, there’s not really that much positive to write about Brown.
Will Sarkozy and Merkel be able to take Europe to the next level? It seems to me that they just might. France and Germany are Europe’s, better, the EU’s, most powerful countries. If these two countries find each other and move towards the US ánd want Europe to unite, well, things could go forward quite rapidly. We will see what happens, but for now, I’m positive and hopeful.
