Chirac lashes out at 'new Europe'
It sounds like some poor Frenchman didn't get his nap....
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- French President Jacques Chirac has attacked eastern European countries hoping to join the EU, saying they missed a great opportunity to "shut up" when they signed letters backing the U.S. position on Iraq.
"These countries have been not very well behaved and rather reckless of the danger of aligning themselves too rapidly with the American position," Chirac said of the 13 European Union aspirants after an emergency EU summit on Iraq.
"It is not really responsible behavior. It is not well brought-up behavior. They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet."
"Honestly I felt they acted frivolously because entry into the European Union implies a minimum of understanding for the others," Chirac said.
Chirac called the letters "infantile" and "dangerous," adding: "They missed a great opportunity to shut up."
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic joined EU members Britain, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Portugal in signing a letter last month supporting Washington's stance on Iraq.
Ten other eastern European nations signed a similar letter a few days later.
Let me see if I understand Chirac's position: you are free to voice your opinion- as long as it agrees with the French position. What an imperious, self-centered jackass, eh?
Mr. Chirac has no constituency, so it would seem he is trying to save face by belittling those European countries who would deign to disagree with France. Then he compounds the arrogance by implying that those candidate countries who have dared to disagree with France may not be EU material. Well, if there had been any doubt about Chirac's moral bankruptcy, he just cleared that up.
Methinks that perhaps Chirac, and a number of other EU leaders, have a rather overdeveloped opinion of their own significance and relevance. Sometimes, discovering the unpleasant reality can be a humiliating experience. It would appear that Chirac's ego is not up to the challenge.
