Landing in Paris: prime minister Sharon
Photo: AP
The disengagement summit
Sharon and Chirac never hid their 'mutual admiration' of one another
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is
seriously thinking about running for office again in 2006, while French President Jacques Chirac understands that his chances of running for the presidency in 2007 are already over. “The king is naked,” wrote Le Monde in an editorial that summed up what many in France felt towards their president.
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The disengager (Sharon) and the disengaged (Chirac) never hid their mutual admiration of one another. Chirac’s France unofficially declared Sharon to be a persona non gratta after Sharon had called on France’s Jews to flee from the "dangerous country," causing Chirac to fume.
When the two met for dinner exactly four years ago, it wasn’t the start of a beautiful friendship but the start of an almost entirely complete break in relations.
And here, a moment before the pullout, Chirac has invited Sharon to his palace. Sharon’s interest in accepting the invite is clear: One of the most pro Arab leaders in Europe is intending on hugging him before the exit from Gaza, thereby sending a clear message to the international community, and especially to the Arab world.
Chirac’s interest in this meeting is less clear. For him, there is no advantage of a joint photo-op with Sharon within France, in fact the opposite my be true.
Chirac decided that he would, with a certain bravery, host Sharon in any case, during a historic and tense moment. And the reason for this lies in a desperate wish to prove that he still has something to say on the international sphere, even though at home, he is listened to by no one.
Sharon is the last card, the surprising joker, in Chirac’s Middle Eastern pack.
The “strong hand” held by Chirac in the last decades – Arafat – Hariri – Sadam – has folded.
Cloak of normalcy
Chirac, a veteral player at least as much as Sharon, is not deceiving himself. In this game he won’t sweel the whole deck, but will rather cut his losses.
Both the presidential palace and the prime minister’s office are trying to restrain the wide egos and cynicism of the two leaders, and to ensure that at the end of the conversation all parties will go home in peace.
If these two ‘icons’ succeed in creating a ‘business as usual’ front for relations between the two countries, all parties will benefit.
For the first time in years it will be possible to say that the historic relationship between Israel and France has shed its stray jacket and has returned to wrapping itself with a cloak of normalcy.
