French connection

In his first foreign policy speech, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has scoped out breathtaking terrain, terrain in which India would be firmly anchored. And given France8217;s hold on the European mind and the fact that foreign policy is considered the preserve of the French presidency, he could pull off some of the most dramatic 8212; and beneficial 8212; changes in the continent since the Berlin Wall fell. In an address to France8217;s ambassadorial corps on Monday, Sarkozy grabbed headlines by appearing to concede the advisability of use of force against Iran if more subtle diplomatic persuasion failed to deter it away from building a nuclear bomb. With his flair for the dramatic one-liner, he said sufficient incentives should be placed before Tehran to avoid a catastrophic predicament: 8220;an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran.8221; It was of a piece with his larger plan for a stronger Europe engaged more harmoniously in building a new world order 8212; an order in which he sought the democratisation of forums like the UN Security Council and the G8 to include, among a few others, India.

Sarkozy8217;s outlook is significant for more than the specifics. It must serve as a reminder to New Delhi 8212; to our own diplomatic corps and to our politicians 8212; that the world today is well moved beyond simplistic you-are-with-them-or-against-them blocs. Sarkozy has adhered to his predecessor Jacques Chirac8217;s objections to the invasion of Iraq. But he has taken France away from the anti-American pretext that seemed to motivate Chirac 8212; he coupled the demand for withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq by committing France to a process of stabilisation and reconciliation. His message to the US was not that it retreat from a critical role in Iraq, but that it earn the right to be pre-eminent by taking responsible leadership in 8220;every domain8221;.

Most in the Indian establishment who would gladly echo Sarkozy8217;s demand that India find place as a permanent member of the Security Council along with Germany, Japan and Brazil and as a member along with China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa of 8216;the G138217;, an expanded G8. The case for India8217;s entitlement at the global high table is being made by stakeholders. But New Delhi still needs to clinch it. That can only be done by taking a large view in protecting our own

interests and those of the international institutional framework. By the evidence of the political resistance to something as simple as the Indo-US nuclear agreement, we still have some way to go.