Jose Maria Aznar, the President of Spain, was in New York on Tuesday on account of the UN General Assembly business. While he was there, he sat down for a conversation with Charlie Rose. I took notes. As best I can determine, no transcript is available, so most of the key phrases I wrote down are not exact quotes. Then again, he was speaking through a translator, so they wouldn't be exact quotes anyway...
Elected in 1996, and re-elected in 2000, Aznar has presided over excellent economic progress in Spain-- and he took over from a socialist, to boot. He claimed that Spain has the 'most growth' and highest employment in Europe (or possibly just among counties using the euro-- I wasn't clear on that), and even has a balanced budget.
Aznar said that he would like to see Europe be successful and powerful, but in cooperation with the US. His favorite phrase thoughout the interview was 'Atlantic relationship.' He said the same thing later in Florida, as evidenced here. "There is no serious alternative ... to the stability of a relationship between Europe and the United States," he said, adding that it was "compatible with the development of Europe." This stands in stark contrast to certain other European heads of state, who seem to think that Europe must oppose the US in order to be relevant in the world.
I don't believe that Aznar so much as mentioned another European nation or leader in a negative context, which speaks volumes about his character. He did note that it seems to be simpático in Europe to criticize the US, because 'people like to pick on the big guy.' He further explained that when Great Britain (or Spain) was the most powerful nation in the world, it was generally unpopular. Whoever has to be responsible for world stability, he said, must deal with not being popular. The President of Spain said that the United States is responsible for the stability of the world. Think about that.
Spain has been an unwavering ally in the war against global terrorism since before 9/11. Then again, they have had their own problems with Basque terrorism, so that attitude shouldn't come as a surprise. President Aznar took some flak for his support of the war in Iraq, but said that 'I have my convictions,' and 'sometimes political leadership requires you to go against the flow.' This echoes an earlier joint press conference with Tony Blair after the end of major hostilities. "A government may have to take difficult decisions, but they always have to think of everyone's security and safety. That is something that citizens, in the end, understand."
He defended the timing of the Iraq war, explaining that the 'last chance' means the last chance, not the second to last chance-- or the one before that. I couldn't resist printing that phrasology, but he probably said it better at a joint press conference with President Bush before the war. "What I want to say is that if Resolution 1441 states that it's Saddam's last opportunity, that means that time cannot be long, because the last opportunity has already been given to him. What we have to verify now is whether he has disarmed, or not. If we now said that time was infinite, it would be a laugh. It would be very difficult for anyone to take us seriously, beginning with the United Nations. That would be the worst possible message we could send for peace."
Aznar noted that certain world leaders had been known to complain that the US did not intervene in the middle East, only to complain again when it finally happened. Furthermore, he feels that Europe is more at risk from terrorism and instability in the region than the US-- being geographically closer, for one thing. What he didn't go out and say is that France really ought to be more agreeable to reforming the Arab world, because France is close to the action, and has a large and growing Muslim minority. Helping democracy and freedom become part of overall Islamic culture should be high on France's to-do list, if the country wishes to avoid a violent future.
What Aznar did say, though, is that 'you solve your problems when you look them in the eye.' He spoke of 'shouldering responsibility,' but I forget the exact context. On the subject of responsibility, Aznar declared before his re-election that he would not seek a third term. He said that some people were slow to believe it, because in the past they had been told things-- and then the reality was quite different. Bear in mind that he took office only two decades after Franco, and memories like that tend to stick with you for a while. Aznar said that he has no plans to seek election to anything when his term ends next year, and stuck to that no matter what Charlie suggested (the UN, some other international body). I forget what he said he wanted to do, but it's definitely not politics.
I was greatly impressed with this man. He refused to insult people who disagree with him, but articulated his own views well. He leads, as opposed to ruling or pandering. He wants the world to be a better place.
If only everyone was nearly as responsible.
Posted by Mitch at September 26, 2003 11:38 PMAznar's the Prime Minister, not the President.
Posted by: Eric Brown at June 16, 2004 07:25 PM