Love me, not so sure about others
In a week of unfolding tragedy, the Diary offers some sobering figures.
On Tuesday, the Pew Research Center produced another of its unmissable global opinion surveys. The subject: attitudes towards the US and the world one year on from the start of the Iraq war. The subjects: 7,500 people in nine countries.
In case you missed the unmissable, heres the nutshelled version: it has not been a good week for the White House.
Sixty-five percent of Pakistanis have favourable views of Osama bin Laden. So do 55% of Jordanians, 45% of Moroccans, even 25 % of Turks.
Seventy percent of Jordanians think suicide bombings against Americans and westerners in Iraq are justified. So do 66% of Moroccans, 46% of Pakistanis, 31% of Turks.
Eighty-six percent of Jordanians think suicide bombings by Palestinians against Israelis are justifiable. So do 74% of Moroccans, 47% of Pakistanis, and 24% of Turks.
While 84% of Americans think Iraqis will be better off without Saddam, only 8% of Pakistanis agree.
Meanwhile, transatlantic relations remain as tense as a Hitchcock movie. European opinions about the US are actually worse than they were this time last year (when, lets face it, they werent exactly picking out curtains).
In France, 59% think the US is exaggerating the threat from terrorism. So do 49% in Germany (76% in Jordan, who see above overwhelmingly favour suicide bombing).
Eighty-four percent in France think the US doesnt take account of their countrys interests when making international policy decisions (such as getting rid of Saddam). This compares to only 48% in Pakistan who think the US acts without properly considering Pakistani interests.
Even better, 82% of Frenchmen think the US lied about the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. This compares to 69% of Jordanians, and a mere 48% of Moroccans.
Perhaps even more significant, 75% in France, 63% in Germany, 60% in Turkey and 56% in Britain think Europe should be more independent of the US in security and diplomatic affairs.
Amazingly, majorities in Britain, Russia and Turkey (and 90% in France) think it would be a good thing if the European Union became as powerful as the US.
Seventy-five percent of Americans favour Tony Blair, compared with 51% of his own electorate, 35% in France and 6% in Morocco.
Sixty-one percent of Americans like George W. Bush, compared with 15% of Frenchmen and a whopping 3% of Moroccans.
Finally, 92% of Moroccans, 80% of Pakistanis and 20% of Germans hold unfavourable views of Jews. Seventy-three percent of Moroccans, 62% of Pakistanis and 52% of Turks dont like Christians. This compares, say, with 18% of Britons who hold unfavourable views of Muslims. Eighty-seven percent of Pakistanis like Muslims like themselves.
In fact, most people like themselves quite a lot.
Uncle Vlad
Meanwhile, with the events in Spain, you may not have noticed there was another key election this week.
In Russia, everyones favourite president, Vladimir Putin, romped home to victory in a landslide worthy of Saddam.
Vlad won 71.2% of the votes stuffed sorry, cast. His nearest rival, a commie, won 13.7%. All other candidates won under 5% of the vote.
In Chechnya, Putin won 92% of the vote.
Putin, who is close to reaching superhero status in Mother Russia (the Putin doll, for example, is a must-have in every Russian household), vowed that all the democratic achievements will be guaranteed. He also promised economic wizardry, military victory, and to make Russia great again.
Well, hes got the mandate
Unfortunately, while no one disputes Putin is unrivalled for the position of Comrade Popular in Russia these days, there were many raised eyebrows over the democratic legitimacy of the elections.
International election observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe were not impressed. The election process over all did not adequately reflect principles necessary for a healthy democratic election process, said Julian Peel Yates, head of the mission. Essential elements of the OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards for democratic elections, such as vibrant political discourse and meaningful pluralism, were lacking.
Putins opponents have suffered from an uncanny inability to gain media access, while the television networks repeatedly show slow-mo shots of SuperVlad looking tough, handsome, wholesome, and unequivocally confirming his sex-symbol status (none of which are OSCE essential democratic standards).
The critical language of the report could not be called overly harsh, says the Moscow Times. But the monitoring centre set up by nationalist Sergei Glazyev, liberal Irina Khakamada and communist Nikolai Kharitonov was not so diplomatic. It pointed out that patients in Moscows Psychiatry Clinic No.4 (where the Diary plans to retire) received their ballots already marked for Putin.
By 2008, the whole country will be voting according to the same principle as in Psychiatric Hospital No.4, Glazyev said, or promised. Its as if you come to play chess and your rival in one stroke sweeps all the pieces off the board. Its a purely stupid Russian game. The use of administrative resources is criminal.
Election officials in Grozny told the Moscow Times how theyd filled in several thousand ballots for Putin (and, the Diary presumes, were suffering badly from repetitive strain injury). A teacher was caught on video camera ordering her pupils to vote for SuperVlad or get straight Fs.
However, SuperVlad is not about to lose any sleep. Bush, Blair, Chirac Schröder, Koizumi all called to congratulate him within hours.
Muted criticisms from Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were swept aside with a swipe at Florida 2000: In many so-called developed democracies there are also many problems with their own democratic and voting procedures.
Touché!
Dire straits
Ah, elections...
Theres another one in Taiwan on Saturday. It could prove as controversial as USA 2000 and Spain and Russia 2004.
Elections in Taiwan always inspire the Chinese military to flex its considerable muscle you know, just to remind the voters whos boss.
This week, the Chinese got some help intimidating Taiwan. In its biggest ever naval drill with a foreign country, China took to the waters with its new beau: France.
Taiwan, like the Diary, was not impressed. Choosing his words carefully, President Chen Shui-bian hit France where it hurts a Frenchman most, and called the land of love bad-hearted.
Mon Dieu! Vous mavez percé le couer!
In a passionate embrace (otherwise known as joint manoeuvres) Chinese and French helicopters mounted each others warships. Last month, France bathed the Eiffel Tower in Chinese Red as Chirac and Hu Jintao got intimate in the Elysée.
Chen went for the jugular, saying France was willing to be used by its new lover China.
Cunning! Cunning!
France is bad-hearted and tries to sell arms to China, said Chen, who might actually gain from Frances love-in with China. The Taiwanese dont respond well to Chinese threats and tend to vote for the candidate most hated in Beijing.
Saturdays election comes with a controversial referendum on whether to build up Taiwanese military defences against China.
Expect trouble.
Bargain binned
Finally, Iran, whose nuclear programme has given the Diary plenty to write about these last few weeks.
Well this week, the Financial Times reported that on 4 May 2003, just after the fall of Baghdad, Iran contacted the US state department through Swiss diplomatic channels (Switzerland represents the US in Iran) offering what is being called a grand bargain.
The bargain involves a roadmap to normalisation of relations between the two countries, and wide-open talks on everything from the Islamic Republics nuke programme, its relations to terrorism, to Iraq and a two-state solution to Israel-Palestine. The substance of the agenda was pretty reasonable, said one American official.
According to the FT, the US has not responded to the offer because of divisions within the Bush administration between hawks and ... the other lot.
Iran, of course, is part of Bushs axis of evil. The only US response of note was to rebuke the Swiss foreign ministry for overstepping its mandate. It raises questions over the statesmanship of the Bush administration, editorialised the FT.
Could Iran be the next Libya, dealt with through diplomacy as opposed to force?
Depends on how serious the offer is, and whether Washington plans ever to respond to it constructively. The problem is simple and perfectly described by the FT: what the US has towards Iran is not so much a policy as an attitude.
Figures of the week
100 million
The number of dollars netted by the Pakistani nuclear traders and their leader Abdul Qadeer Khan on sales of nuclear technology to Libya alone
14.5
The number of litres of pure alcohol consumed each year by an Irish adult
10,500
The number of Earth years that make one Sedna year.
Quotes of the week
The [Iraq] war has been a disaster, the occupation has been a great disaster. It hasnt generated anything but more violence and hate. What simply cannot be is that after it became so clear how badly it was handled there be no consequences. Bush and Blair will have to reflect and engage in some self criticism, so things like that dont happen again. You cannot organise a war on the basis of lies. You cannot bomb a people just in case.
Newly-elected prime minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. In the wake of the Madrid bombings and his partys election to office, Zapatero promised to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq unless they are put under UN control by the end of June
The idea that somehow there is some exemption certificate for this war against terrorism is utter nonsense.
British foreign secretary Jack Straw
You love life and we love death, which gives an example of what the Prophet Muhammad said.
A statement from a videotaped message claiming that an al-Qaida affiliate carried out the 11 March train bombings in Madrid
I think terrorists will kill innocent life in order to try and get the world to cower. I think theyre these are cold-blooded killers. I mean, theyll kill innocent people to try and shake our will.
US President George W. Bush
We will not defeat terrorism only with the use of force and weapons.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
These dark days have shown us how the American approach [to terrorism] has not been sufficient to deal with the situation completely ... It is clear that using force is not the answer to resolving the conflict with terrorists.
President of the EU Commission Romano Prodi. He later clarified his remark.
If youre going to make an accusation in the course of your presidential campaign, you ought to back it up with facts.
George W. Bush
"We are open to everyone. The only people who will not have a place are neoliberals, Nazis, racists and political delinquents."
Heloisa Helena, recently expelled from Brazils ruling Workers Party, on the new party she is helping to build
Contact the Diary: Dominic.Hilton@openDemocracy.net
