The Middle East, the land that gave the world the very concept of the Messiah, is about to receive a new one. So, why don’t we hear any Hossanas in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, or Rammallah over Tony Blair’s imminent anointing as the new Middle East envoy by the International Quartet for Middle East Peace? By now, after a decades-long parade of envoys, special representatives, shuttle diplomats, mediators, negotiators, intermediaries, and every variety of peace-making performers and reconciliation evangelists, the one creed that is spreading in the region, beyond the three major monotheistic religions, is the gospel of cynicism. That’s the [...]
BRUSSELS — Europe’s most successful, charismatic and internationally recognized center-left leader steps down Wednesday, but there will be little mourning for British premier Tony Blair in London and most continental capitals. An opinion poll carried out for the Financial Times newspaper last week reveals just how divisive a figure Blair remains. Asked whether he would make a good first president of the European Union — a post created at a June 21-23 EU summit in Brussels — 64 percent of Germans, 60 percent of Britons and 53 percent of French respondents said nein/no/non. Few Europeans would deny that Blair oozes [...]
Editor’s Note: Corridor’s of Power, written by WPR Editor-at-Large Roland Flamini, appears every Monday in World Politics Review. RHINEMAIDEN’S SWANSONG — The grand finale of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s six months as president of the European Union (Portugal takes over next week) was not exactly a triumph, but it wasn’t Gotterdammerung either. To stick with Wagnerian metaphors, it was more The Flying Dutchman, in which the 27-nation European Union is destined to sail eternally from one compromise to another. Still, at last week’s EU summit Merkel — reportedly with an energetic assist from French President Nicolas Sarkozy — seems to [...]
