Chris Patten, Quite the Politician
Ex European Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten, reveals his views on Europe and the world in his refreshingly frank book, Not quite the Diplomat.Chris Patten, who has occupied a myriad of functions within the public domain, including Chairman of the Conservative Party and Governor of Hong Kong.
The former EU Commissioner is promoting Not quite the Diplomat, his latest publication on world politics. In this book, the ex-politician transgresses all barriers of political correctness, thereby making it a delightful and atypical read. According to Lord Patten, the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, is “not a democrat”. Vice-President of the USA Dick Cheney’s style is to stick “two fingers” up at the outside world. Russian President Vladimir Putin is a liar. Everyone in the upper echelons of society may think it, but only this man has the guts to write it down so explicitly. When asked his views on America, this pro-European Conservative (a rare species in the UK) commented, “I don’t think Bush’s foreign policy is typical of American politics. When you look at the opinion polls, it doesn’t seem like a majority of Americans have fundamentally changed their view of the world. We shouldn’t assume that the direction in which the assertive nationalists and neoconservatives have shifted things represents anything permanent. In order to help win the argument for international cooperation, Europe has to demonstrate that it doesn’t want to be a rival, but a partner of the States. And secondly, it has to play a bigger and more responsible role in making multilateral solutions work. In my view, the EU should focus on delivery and be a little more pragmatic. I don’t think that it makes much sense to continue to press the case for greater economic and political integration. We have had about as much of that as the market will bear. But the EU does need to be braver and more vigorous in pressing for a more liberal agenda in economic issues.”
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