Final Word from Monday, May 7, 2007
The CR's right-wing president and PM, Václav Klaus and Mirek Topolánek, were pleased to see Nicolas Sarkozy win the French elections. They see eye-to-eye with him on the EU treaty and, unlike Ségol?ne Royal, want a simpler new text drawn up. Their key difference, as Topolánek noted, is on EU enlargement. Sarkozy is a staunch opponent of adding Turkey, because it's in Asia Minor. ODS points to Turkey's geo-strategic position, its reliability as an ally, and the boost its 70m citizens would bring. Klaus argues that saying No to Turkey would destabilize that very large and important country. Sarkozy says he doesn't think stability can be achieved by killing Europe. Those who oppose a political Europe, he says, want endless EU expansion, because this would prevent the realization of a political Europe. Sarkozy seems to have seen through his right-wing Czech colleagues.[Czech Republic geostrategic European Union Constitution Segolene prime minister premier]