Editorial: There’s a new bully on the block: Chirac

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 8:51 a.m.

After decades of oppressive rule by communist dictators in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europeans came to know all too well the need to keep quiet. Those days ended after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but apparently President Jacques Chirac of France still is nostalgic for some form of iron-fisted rule.

This week Chirac showed that he is quite adept at bullying when it comes to Eastern European nations. Chirac scolded them for having the gall to side with U.S.-British willingness to use military force to oust Saddam Hussein from power. Germany and France, meanwhile, are trying to head off an invasion of Iraq. Chirac went as far as to say that the 13 Eastern European nations' defiance of France endangered their chances to gain admittance to the European Union -- entry that is critical for the survival of some of their struggling economies. "It is not really responsible behavior," he said. "They missed a good opportunity to keep quiet."

Chirac strangely believes that an honest disagreement is bad manners. The Eastern European nations have a better grasp of the true meaning of democracy -- including dissent -- than does France's president. "France has a right to its opinion, and Poland has the right to decide what is good for it," Adam Rotfeld, Poland's deputy foreign minister, told The New York Times. "France should respect that." Chirac would do well to follow Rotfeld's advice.