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Difino
| • | Chris Patten, Not Quite the Diplomat is a book by Chris Patten.
PRESS RELEASE FROM PUBLISHER (PENGUIN):
Not Quite the DiplomatHome Truths about World AffairsBy Chris Patten
Published by Allen Lane, 26 September 2005, £20.00
In 1997, Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, left on board theroyal yacht Britannia before flying back to London with his family and'prosaically ending the British Empire in the taxi queue at Heathrow'sTerminal Three.' After five years in the 'engine room' of world diplomacyas Europe's Commissioner for External Relations, he returns with aninsider's account of the world stage. Freed from the bonds of diplomaticrestraint, he writes candidly about many of the world's major players, fromChirac to Putin, Kohl to Blair, examining how we got to where we are todayand revealing what happened behind closed doors at the heart ofinternational events.
Not Quite the Diplomat is infused with Patten's experience in Europe,working at the epicentre of the efforts to create a common European foreignand security policy, and dealing with the world's only super-power, thenot-so-United States of America. He came to the job as someone who loved andadmired America and who believed - without a disproportionate sense ofromance - that Britain had taken the right decision about joining the EU,but that the politics of Britain's membership and the success of Europeitself were not only confused but also hampered by the gap between rhetoricand reality. What is clear, he says, is that as long as France, Germany andBritain are confused by their own roles in Europe, so long will Europe bemixed up too.
America's status as a superpower is not going to be rivalled by Europe, saysPatten. But Europe, if it is encouraged to act effectively as one, if it hasthe political will to do so, and if it is prepared to invest the money oftenrequired to play this role successfully, could make a more effectivepolitical contribution on the world stage and help America, our past saviourand increasingly confusing partner and friend, to act as a global leader inways that enhance a system of global governance that suits marketdemocracies, great and small. China and India's emergence as substantialeconomic players in the world will have political consequences. They willnot simply accept the West's agenda in finance, trade, the environment orsecurity policy. Do we in Europe side with them against America, or withAmerica against th
Source: [wikipedia: chris patten, not quite the diplomat]
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