BY ALI BAYRAMOGLU
YENI SAFAK- Yesterday was the most important day of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s current visit to France as our premier first met with his French counterpart Jean- Pierre Raffarin and then President Jacques Chirac.
Chirac is probably the only politician in his country willing to welcome Turkey’s EU membership, a fact which makes the issue a hot potato for French domestic politics. As a matter of fact, Paris’ discussions over Turkey’s EU membership should be considered in light of the French nation’s identity crisis. This crisis erupted as France failed to digest the ever-rising demands and cultural identity of its own Muslim-Arab citizens. France has symbolically lost this struggle as it has resorted to bans and even exclusion to deal with such problems. Turkey’s EU membership bid unfortunately coincides with these developments. Therefore, the French see this issue as part of larger problems regarding Europe’s identity.
Under these circumstances, the French president seems to be stuck between the demands of domestic politics and the strategic perspective on Turkey’s EU membership. In truth, Chirac’s domestic power is on the wane. His party suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the socialists in the last elections. Therefore, the longer Chirac maintains his insistent attitude on Turkey’s membership bid, the likelier he is to lose power and votes. We shouldn’t be surprised should these factors play a key role in France’s attitude at the December EU summit where Turkey’s future will be clarified. The situation isn’t so much hopeless as it is problematic… Both international balances and the methods Chirac will use to try to revive his power closely concern Turkey and its future.