Lord Ellpus wrote:... This is because Chirac is just waiting for Britain to make such a statement, as he can then cite the Brits as the bad guys in all of this, and give us the blame for bringing the process to an end.
Just wait for the very carefully worded statement from Straw tomorrow.
Another item of interest was the meeting that Chirac and Shroeder have scheduled. Apparently, Chirac was trying to get ALL founder members to attend the meeting, and attempt to thrash out a "back door" method of continuing with the ratification. This would then be presented as almost a "fait accompli" at the main meeting in a fortnight.
The Dutch Prime Minister told Chirac in no uncertain terms that he would not attend, and thereby sent a clear signal that he would have nothing to do with any secret deals that Chirac and Shroeder attempt to cook up.
The consensus seems to be that Chirac and Shroeder are becoming more isolated by the day.
More isolated and less and less relevant. Neither will likely be a part of the political scene when these issues are resolved or even next addressed. However Straw's caution is well-advised. Political "leaders" such as Chirac will fight hard to preserve their public illusions and smokescreens.
I find Chirac, nominally a conservative, quite remarkable. He not only resists the obviously needed reform of over-regulated French labor markets (unlike Schroeder, who is trying to do this) he even blames the unseen forces of "Anglo Saxon" culture and economic resilience for the public rejection of the Constitution the development of which He and his compatiot Giscard d'Estang thorughly dominated. In my eyes this appears to be among the worst examples of unprincipled political opportunism in the last half century. (Not to mention gratuitous insults to nations that have been France's greatest benefactors).
On a related subject - the recent fluctuations in the Euro are themselves of little lasting significance. The underlying economic factors will, in the long run, determine its value, despite the fact that the rejection of the new Constitution has shaken the confidence of many observers of this scene. However the ridiculous spectacle of the French political leadership denying that any reform of their unsustainable welfare system is required and, worse, this blaming of the rejection of the constitution on unseen Anglo Saxon reformist influences, noted above, puts the coming economic crisis in sharp relief.
Continental Europe has the time, the wealth, and the ability to adapt to current economic and social realities. However, if they continue to put so much energy into distractions and blame shifting, they will lose those advantages and perhaps one day find themselves armed only with necessity.
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