February 21, 2008
Cyprus renews EU’s faith in magic of democracy
Oh, the magic of democracy! Three European election results have lifted spirits in Brussels: Poland’s parliamentary vote of October 2007, the Serbian presidential ballot of February 3, and the first round of Cyprus’s presidential election last Sunday.
In each case, the winners stood for better relations with the European Union and a co-operative approach to solving European diplomatic problems. The losers were prickly, obstructive nationalists and the opposite of everything the EU likes to think it stands for.Whether these three results will be enough to wipe out the painful memory of the Dutch and French referendums of 2005 that killed off the EU’s experiment in constitution-building remains to be seen. But for many in Brussels, the message from Poland, Serbia and Cyprus is that democracy not only works, but strengthens the EU and the cause of European integration.
In other words, don’t be afraid of the voters - they can be trusted, in the end, to get it right. In Poland, the October election produced a whopping defeat for Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister who had achieved the reckless feat of simultaneously irritating Germany and Russia, Poland’s far more powerful neighbours. The winner was Donald Tusk and his pro-European, pro-business Civic Platform party.
In Serbia, the pro-European Boris Tadic scored a victory over the ultra-nationalist Tomislav Nikolic that was narrow but just enough to let the EU claim that Serb voters had chosen a European path over the road of darkness.
Most intriguing of all was Sunday’s result in Cyprus. This saw the elimination of Tassos Papadopoulos, the president who persuaded Greek Cypriots in 2004 to reject a United Nations settlement for the divided island. Instead, former foreign minister Yiannakis Cassoulides and Demetris Christofias, the communist party leader, will fight out the run-off next Sunday. Both campaigned on a platform of resuming the peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots of the north whom the Papadopoulos administration had ignored since 2004. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say the EU has been thoroughly frustrated and depressed about Cyprus for the past four years. The EU’s original idealistic hope was to encourage a deal between Greek and Turkish Cypriots by offering the lure of EU membership to both communities as part of a reunited country.
The Turkish Cypriots bought into this and approved the UN plan. The Greek Cypriots, thanks to Papadopoulos, did not. But the EU had already promised to let the Greek Cypriots join if it proved impossible to reach a settlement. As a result, Cyprus entered the EU as a Greek Cypriot entity - and virtually all the EU’s leverage disappeared. Cyprus has been particularly hostile to Turkey’s aspirations to membership, acting a way that most EU governments regard as quite contrary to the EU spirit.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriots have grown increasingly disillusioned with the EU. Of course, we shall have to wait and see how things pan out after Sunday’s second round of voting. It would be foolish to expect too much too soon - Cyprus is Europe’s “frozen conflict” par excellence. But in Brussels, they are crossing their fingers - and hoping the democratic process does the trick again.











Europe’s best way to integrate all its parts includes : a) a full wireless video-phone-laptop-network,and to include educational games and training and away from the usual “mymyspaces” and “mymyphotos” and “mymyme” sites, we need to channel Europe’s kids into creative thinking and logical minds, fun and friends but with a heavy “brain in action” load,a sort of “fun sites to make you smarter” and so you can get a “better job”,b) activities with bicycles and action fun motions and less fattening video watching, c) healthy food cooking and eating and a serious campaign to show that emphysema and lung cancer is what you get from smoking nicotine and not cool friends, d) music and art classes to compete all across the EU as well as with a SOLAR HOME IN EVERY CITY TO SHOW KIDS WHERE THE REAL ACTION IS : IN HOW TO BUILD SOLAR,WIND,BATTERY,HYDROGEN,ETHANOL-BIODIESEL,
Posted by: blogger | February 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 pm | Report this commentDESALINATION , GEOTHERMAL AND FUSION ENERGY, make them Energy Independent from the “get-go”, and able to rebuild a laptop , a mobile phone and a CB radio , able to understand why it works and how to make it better, as well as why and how the Rule of Law works, after all the Asian competition is ruthless, train them or die…
Europe has got only one chance, right now!
‘They can be trusted, in the end, to get it right.’
What astonishing arrogance! Convinced Europeans are regularly confronted with dismaying evidence of the ham-fistedness of their ‘allies’.
With Brussels doing its best to smother any pan-European sentiment, Tony Barber’s ‘crony’ europeanism only adds to the PR disaster.
The voters are by definition ‘right’.
Douglas Finney
Posted by: Douglas Finney | February 23rd, 2008 at 9:25 am | Report this commentWe must recognize that TB communicated a good energy… At least time to time we need to feel this passion for politics isn’t it? N
Posted by: nico | February 25th, 2008 at 11:43 pm | Report this commentWhilst the EU continues to dither on issues related to lifting of the embargo on Cyprus or moving forward on negotiations with Turkey, its self-defeating bleak prophecy on the future of a Turkey outside of Europe, may just turn out right.
On the other hand, as one Chinese official said of Europe, [it] ‘appears defensive, introspective, decadent and tired, too prosperous to take risks, too complacent to take on change. Europe is a continent that has lost its amibition and its place in the world.’ Hopefully this is still only a prophecy for Europe, one which will not turn out true.
Posted by: Erkan Ozcelik | February 27th, 2008 at 7:35 pm | Report this comment