Un-Solana

Photo credit: www.kremlin.ru

Javier Solana doesn’t seem like himself lately.

First came his announcement, earlier this month, that he plans to retire when his term comes to an end in October. The timing of his announcement seems odd given that everything he has worked for in the past decade – including the creation of the world’s first multinational foreign minister post — is about to materialize, and he was poised to inherit that post should the Lisbon Treaty be ratified. Brussels reporter David Haworth wrote an enlightening article, calling Solana’s timing “ironical.” See here.

Then, on Saturday, Solana gave a speech in London where he called for the United Nations to create a Palestinian state even without a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. For Solana — the personification of diplomacy — this was a very undiplomatic thing to say. Don’t forget that this is the same world leader who — when once asked about the secret of his diplomatic success — replied, “Make no enemies.”

He certainly made more than a few enemies in Israel with his speech. Read about it here. It makes me wonder, why is Solana’s recent behavior so un-Solana?

Yet, he has promised that after he retires he will “keep his boots on.”

Now that’s a very Solana thing to say.

— Holly Pivec
7/14/09