Populism and its ghosts

I realised I am speaking too often against populist leaders. Every time I am asked about the current European challenges, the word populism pops up in one or more of my sentences. Is it that I am seeing too many ghosts and witches around? Or is there a real reason to be worried, as we regard ahead and try to see how the European Union is going to respond to some of the very salient challenges it faces?

Flying over the Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai plane crash raises a couple of chief questions. It has to be seriously and independently investigated. It would be unacceptable to see any kind of national political considerations masking the truth. There is such a risk, I am afraid.

People should know the causes. The next wave of tourists, of course, and all those flying over the region – it is an important corridor for aircraft going or coming out of the Gulf States – but also the relatives of those who lost their lives on Saturday. 

President Erdogan ´s victory should be an opportunity for moderation

President Erdogan´s party has won today´s general elections in Turkey. As the victory is not a political tsunami, but enough to give him a solid majority in the national Parliament, one could hope for a certain degree of moderation to be restored to Turkish politics.

This is however very unlikely. I am afraid Erdogan will continue to press for a domestic agenda that combines religious conservatism with a strong shade of despotism. But he can count with very serious civil society demonstrations. People in the big cities are not really prepared for additional limitations to their freedoms. In addition, the Kurdish question will not fade away. It is actually calling for a renewed approach to dialogue and reconciliation. Erdogan cannot respond to such a call with weapons, arrests and brute force.

On the external front, Erdogan will have to play a constructive role in Syria. That´s his most important contribution to peace and stability in the region. He will be also under some kind of European pressure to bring under control the human trafficking that is taking place on the Turkish shores of the Mediterranean Sea. To claim he is in charge and at the same time allow free space for traffickers and other criminal elements to take advantage of the human misery is a major contradiction that needs to be exposed.

The leaders within the EU have also to be better at defining a common approach to Ankara. Such an approach cannot be dictated by despair, by the leaders´ incapacity to deal with the refugee flows that have their assembly points in Turkey.

Supporting the Vienna process on Syria

A week ago, I criticised the conveners of the Vienna meeting on Syria for not inviting the UN and EU. Now, after today´s new round of discussions in Vienna, I should commend the US and Russia for bringing to the room not only the UN and the EU, but also the other countries that can have an impact on the solution of the long lasting civil war. It was particularly important to have Iran in the conversation.

This basically means that for the first time, after so many years of destruction and human pain, there is a bit of hope for the Syrians. The road ahead is still very difficult. But at least the diplomacy is now seriously trying to initiate a peace process.

The next step is to find a way of bringing in the Syrian representatives themselves. I am confident that it should be possible, if all those who met in Vienna today do their honest part of the bargain.

It is also critically important to intensify the destruction of the Islamic State leadership and power structures. For that to happen, one has to be very frank and have the courage to denounce any double game that might occur in the future. We cannot accept a country sits in Vienna and talks about the future of a peaceful Syria and, at the same time, keeps somehow supporting the terrorists.

Fighting for democracy in Turkey

It requires a lot of courage to be an active democratic opponent of President Erdogan of Turkey. I certainly admire those who in Parliament, in the media and on the streets, through their participation in rallies for democratic rule, dare to express their views. The risks are high. They call for a lot of bravery. 

Restoring hope

People want to feel safe. At home, on the streets and also in their jobs. Times of uncertainty, as we have today in many parts of the world, including in our more developed societies, make people feel fragile and vulnerable. They open the door, if not properly addressed, to all kinds of extremism.

The political discourse has to pay greater attention to these matters. Leaders need to reassure. And they should think again about the role of the State and its institutions, the value of predictability, stability and compromise, and keep in mind that younger generations require special attention. The future is always build on the conviction of progress for new wave, the newcomers. The future will be sombre if the youth believe they will be worst off, that they are the ones who will pay for the follies and the lack of values of today.

In the current circumstances, to restore hope to the young people is a major challenge the political leaders ignore at the peril of everyone. We cannot accept that type of political blindness. 

Weakening Donald Tusk

By and large, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, has measured up to his Brussels job. At a time of great challenges, he has been able to respond much better than initially expected. He has shown leadership and prudence. And that is certainly good news for Europe at a time of great political fragility and uncertainty.  

Now, the outcome of his native Poland´s general elections has brought a bigger problem to him. He has lost the support of his government as the new boys and girls in Warsaw are far from being his political buddies.  Without such backing, in his home country, his presidency job in the Council will be based on a much weaker foundation and becomes much more difficult to perform.

That´s bad news for him and also for the EU.  

No good news from the Polish front

Poland has moved to the very conservative side of its political spectrum. The populist and pretty nationalist Law and Justice won today´s elections. They have a comfortable majority. They will make good use of it to promote a traditional approach to politics and to social values.

This is no good news for the repair work that needs to be done in order to strengthen the EU. The Law and Justice leaders are not great supporters of a stronger EU. They will be adding new challenges to those who believe, in Brussels and throughout Europe, that greater harmonization of policies is the way forward.

Celebrating the United Nations and the entire UN System

Time to celebrate the UN and its 70 years of efforts in favour of peace, human rights, development and international cooperation, including in the areas of environment and protection of the world´s heritage.

Time to be positive and commit oneself to a more effective organization, a complex one for that matter but able to perform in the midst of so many national interests and contradictions. 

Syria: calling for a renewed diplomatic effort

John Kerry, the US State Secretary, and Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister met today in Vienna with their counterparts from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The meeting was about the Syrian conflict and how to get it resolved, after almost five years of civil war and unimaginable suffering.

These four people represent countries that can play an important role in bringing peace back to Syria. Their countries are not the only ones that matter but in many ways they play a major role in the region and can for sure markedly influence the course of events. It is therefore encouraging to see them around the same table. And they should continue the consultations, even if their interests are very distinct, as it is time to see an end to the Syrian tragedy.

I have also noted that the EU was not part of the discussion. It should. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, has to claim a seat around this table. The EU´s potential role both during the peace negotiations and the reconstruction of Syria cannot be ignored.

The UN has also been side-lined. The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, has disappeared from the radar. That needs to be changed immediately. The UN´s participation is critical for the credibility of the Secretary-General and to augment the legitimacy of the current efforts. Here, as in the case of the EU, there is a need to be strong and call for recognition.