Airstrip One

Spain and the European Constitution

The ramifications of the Spanish election has demonstrated the difficulty of analysing events in Europe, Iraq or the United States in isolation. Whilst the initial reactions to the Socialist victory focussed on Iraq, it did not take long for pundits to note that the new government had changed Spain's policy towards the European Constitution. Instead of demanding an undiluted bloc vote, the new Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Zapatero, declared,

"Europe will be a natural framework for our foreign policy,"... Immediately after his election win was confirmed Sunday night Zapatero told supporters: "I will place Spain in the front line of European construction."

Zapatero has quickly reaffirmed his allegiance to the orthodox structure of European power and the odds have turned sharply in favour of the new constitutional settlement. The broken deadlock and the fresh impetus given to the Franco-German alliance was swiftly capitalised upon by that aging euphemism, 'Old Europe'.

Chirac and Schroeder called for a European plan of action to combat terror, the swiftest route to defeat yet devised, given the success of other EU projects. Whilst laying the foundation for their new ten year plan to make Europe the most secure continent in the Universe, both pols trotted out trite inclusiveness to evade any actions that could defeat terrorism.

On countering terrorism, both Chirac and Schroeder said that the fight against terror also requires an attack on its root causes.

Conflicts that feed terrorism and the frustration of some peoples must be ended, Chirac said, pleading for a ”dialogue of cultures.”

The German leader said that economic underdevelopment must also be addressed.

Codewords for interference in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, wasting taxpayers money on Arab kleptocrats and maintaining cooperation with the current parasites that head the modern dictatorships and monarchies. Free trade and strong pressure to liberalise their socialist economies, the leading cause of Arab impoverishment, would provide the wealth and rising expectations that would overthrow these foul regimes and counter the festering hate that fuels Al Qaeda.

Hopefully Chirac and Schroeder, useless bastards that they are, will soon disappear from the international stage.

(22.30, 16th March 2004)