Entente Cordiale

‘AFTER the circus of George Bush’s mission, the arrival of another President appears as a mere sideshow.

”I favour the quick withdrawal approach”

But already the visit of President Jacques Chirac of France has created a moment that will reverberate throughout history.

The cover of the Times shows Tony Blair and the French president posing with a framed picture of three-year-old Leo Blair.

Leo sits on the grass holding what looks like an American football helmet.

The message is concise and spidery: ”To Jacques from Leo x.”

While the paper says that the relationship between Leo and Jacques is based on a mutual respect, we cannot help but think l’homme de minute might have a closer than hitherto imagined link with the young scamp.

Only time will tell how far Anglo-French relations have gone.

But they might never reach such dizzy heights for a long time to come as the Independent says that the two leaders remain divided over Iraq.

While The Frenchman, who never supported the war on Saddam Hussein’s regime, wants the US to pull out and the UN to take over, Tony is worried that too quick a withdrawal will lead to unsavoury consequences.

This is what’s known as the rhythm method approach to international relations - or Leo, for short.’

Posted: 25th, November 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink