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Emperor Sarkozy
Conquers the Mediterranean
Nicholas Sarkozy – who began his six-month turn as Acting
President of the European Union on July 1st - is in a position of power that
Napoleon would have envied. Being in the
catbird seat of the EU is just the half of it.
In early 2007, when he was campaigning to become the
President of France, Sarkozy floated a grandiose idea. He said that if elected he would create a grand
alliance consisting of the 21 countries, on three continents, which border the
Mediterranean Sea. This new political
entity, he vowed, would enrich the lives of the 400 million residents in those
21 countries, bringing Christians, Jews, and Muslims together as never before
to solve regional issues, and perhaps end conflicts in the Middle East for one
and for all. This was all seen as very
ambitious since the functional realities of constructing this proposed alliance
were unformed back then. This is now. Sarkozy is proving to be the energizer
bunny of world politics with - his detractors fret - a tendency toward megalomania.
On July 14th, 2008, Bastille Day (France’s Independence Day
equivalent), Sarkozy publicly christened his cherished political baby, the
Union for the Mediterranean.
Developed by way of something known as “The Barcelona
Process,” Sarko’s Mediterranean Union (quickly dubbed “Club Med” by the European media) now
supposedly binds together not 21, but 43 member countries, with a combined
population of 800 million, some of which are nowhere near the Mediterranean
Sea.
This new entity came into being on the heels of the Irish NO
vote on the failed European Union Constitution (aka the Lisbon Treaty), an act
of rebellion greeted by Sarko with contempt. He glowered and declared that the Irish would just have to vote again.
He delivered himself of this opinion on Irish soil no less. This got the leader
of Sinn Fein, very riled up and that
could be a plot for novelist Tom Clancy down the line if those risky fences
aren’t mended.
But on Bastille Day, everything seemed rosy. Sarkozy and his
new glamorous, top of the pop charts, one time nude model wife, Carla Bruni,
beamed as parachutists filtered down from the skies above Paris, while smartly
dressed military troops marched down the Champs Elysees. In the reviewing stands for the big show were
Israel’s scandal-ridden Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Syria’s President Bashar
al-Assad, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Lebanon’s new President Michel
Suleiman, Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey, Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas, as well
as representatives from Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Greece and Cyprus, plus
delegates from the 27 existing EU member states, and a few folks from the
Balkans. 18,000 French police were required to provide security for this
collection of strange bedfellows. The only no-show was Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi,
who is skeptical about the whole idea. He is not alone.
Early on, Germany let it be known that it was not happy
about having EU funds redirected to finance Club Med. Chancellor Angela Merkel (who is no fan of
Sarko) suspected he was out to create northern and southern spheres of
influence, taking the latter for himself. Sarkozy did little to discourage Merkel’s worries when he announced that
the initial meetings of Club Med’s charter members would be run by him, with
Egypt’s Mubarak serving as “co-presider.” Mubarak is no spring chicken and is unlikely to take any of the
limelight away from Sarkozy. However, other voices from the southern contingent
are already accusing the European states of dominating them. And the ink isn’t
even dry on the membership cards.
Some other questions have surfaced. Do Europeans need yet another super
bureaucracy to suck up their money and run even more of their lives? Wasn’t
Brussels enough already? How much trust
and commonweal can be expected between Brussels and the Middle East? What can a committee of 43 members actually
accomplish when their cultures, economies and interests are so diverse? Does Sarkozy want the Nobel Peace Prize, or
is he just doing an Oprah?
Sarkozy was quoted as saying Club Med summits offered
members the chance to learn how to love one another. Or is he planning to create a new world order
monocracy with himself in the role of monarch? Only time will tell.
Six preliminary goals were agreed to by all parties in the
initial meetings held before the July 14th pomp and glory display. These are:
cleaning up the Mediterranean Sea, developing a Mediterranean Solar Energy
Plan, developing better maritime and land highways, setting up joint civil
protection and disaster response plans, creating a Euro-Mediterranean
University as part of a greater Euro Mediterranean Higher Education and Science
Research Institute and the creation of an overall Mediterranean Business
Development Initiative.
Once again, very ambitious, especially since the foreign
ministers of the Club members will only meet once a year, with a general summit
called every two years. Who runs what
and which “secretariat” (a term that makes everyone outside the horseracing
world slightly nervous) will be placed in what country is all up for
discussion. It is troubling that
immigration matters were brushed aside to create an aura of harmony. Yes, it all seems impossibly idealistic, and
brings Woodrow Wilson to mind. The
difference is that Sarkozy is a driven man, so it could all be fun to watch. Or
frightening.
Speaking of fun things to watch, Barack Obama will visit
President Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace - on July 25th - as part of his European pre-victory
tour. Afterwards, the dynamite duo will
hold a joint press conference. Having
seen recent photos of tall skinny Obama playing B Ball at the gym, and thinking
of the diminutive Sarkozy, one cannot wait to see how the press gets both of
these guys in the same frame without resorting to special effects.
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Susan Easton is a third career theologian. She holds a B.A.
and M.A. in Religious Studies and Theology from the Jesuits. Susan and her
husband of 37 years, Terry, divide their time between homes in the Bay Area and
London.
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Europe