Unusual Ideas (or Madness)!
There is no doubt that some of the Italian PM’s ideas, especially concerning foreign policy issues, are a bit ‘unusual.’ However, there is a method to Berlusconi’s madness, since he is primarily a dynamic businessman of action rather than a rational politician, which is why he is often criticized by certain European circles for not only his commercial wheeling and dealing but also for his ‘authentic’ and ‘unusual’ political ideas.
However, his remarks this week on both the European Union and Cyprus issues will probably endear him to the Turkish people. In fact, Berlusconi has his own original perspective on the EU. He dreams of a ‘Greater Europe.’ In Ankara, he made an astonishing remark on the admission of Turkey and the Russian Federation to the European Union: ‘Europe will only be able to look at the United States not from the position of a subordinate if it becomes a ‘Greater Europe,’ not only great in the economic sense but also in terms of military power.’ That’s what he calls the ‘Greater Europe Project.’ As a matter of fact, isn’t the adventure of the EU itself a step-by-step realization of such a dream? Weren’t prominent figures such as Jean Monnet and Robert Schumann criticized as being a bit nuts back in the 1940s whenever they talked about a European Union?
Anyway, the important point here is that Berlusconi wants Turkey to become an EU member, and he openly expressed that his country would do its best to achieve this goal. This is very important because Italy will take over the rotating EU term presidency from Greece on July 1. Under these circumstances, Italy’s presidency will constitute a great opportunity for our country to make significant progress on its path towards the Union. Our politicians should not pass up this chance, because Ireland and the Netherlands, the presidents for 2004, may not be as enthusiastic about Turkey. In a significant development, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek both recently proclaimed that the government was planning to complete the reform packages necessary to fulfill the EU’s Copenhagen criteria by the end of this year. This is indeed a hopeful sign.
The second ‘crazy’ idea put forth by the Italian prime minister was on the Cyprus issue. He suggested organizing a trip on his personal boat, sailing to Cyprus together with Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis in order to find a solution to the island’s problems. I don’t know whether this unusual suggestion would work, however, maybe we’d do better to rely on creative madness this time! It’s a fact that sometimes such strange ideas provide people with new opportunities. Therefore, his ‘romantic’ suggestion sounds good even if it seemed like a joke!
