|
Powell Fuming After Being Dissed by Zapazero
This weenie seems to be trying to unseat Chirac as Most Contemptible European LeaderMADRID, Spain - Colin Powell was fuming. The U.S. Secretary of State had been kept waiting for more than 30 minutes for his turn to meet José Luis Rodrguez Zapatero, Spainâs prime minister elect. Across the hallway in the Spanish Cortes, or parliament, Mr. Zapatero was having an intimate tête-à -tête with Jacques Chirac, the president of France. French diplomats accompanying the president were beaming. The two leaders, they said, were discussing how to work together "to forge an ambitious vision of the construction of Europe". Earlier in the day, Mr. Zapatero and Tony Blair, the U.K. prime minister, had failed to find common ground on the permanence of Spanish troops in Iraq. . . . For a nation obsessed with protocol and symbolic manifestations of power, Mr. Zapateroâs decision to meet the French president before the US secretary of state was accorded great significance. In the event, Mr. Zapateroâs meeting with Mr. Chirac was cut short as Mr.Powell threatened to cancel his appointment. The meeting between Mr. Zapatero and the US envoy lasted less than 15 minutes. According to US officials traveling with Mr. Powell, both sides stated their positions on Iraq and "agreed to keep the dialogue open". Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, was the next in line to greet Mr. Zapatero. They know each other well from Mr. Schröderâs summer sojourns in Mallorca. They may soon have a lot more in common. Posted by: sludj 2004-03-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=29001 |