by Honor Mahony
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton charmed her way through an hour-long session with a young audience in the European Parliament on Friday, answering ten questions with grace and humour and doling out enough compliments about the EU to earn herself a standing ovation.
She was introduced by an obviously delighted EP chief Hans-Gert Poettering, who underlined how “very great” everything about her was: her past achievements, her likely future achievements, her being in the parliament, the answers to the questions she gave. It was almost toe-curling, but he stopped just in time.
Before Clinton started the Q&A she said she was struck by how the hopes and anspirations of other young people around the world were largely the same. The young Welsh nationalist, who asked about the breaking away of regions such as Wales and Scotland in the EU, probably bucked this trend somewhat.
A young Moldovan got to ask a question by virtue of wearing an “I love Hillary” t-shirt. Clinton said she could not leave without being quizzed by him. He turned out to be a gay rights activists and asked about the rights of gays and lesbians. She started by giving a stock answer but ended on a less standardised note, speaking about the rights of an individual “no matter who that person loves.”
A seasoned politician, she neatly sidestepped a question on divisions between old and new Europe saying all of Europe “is our essential partner” and did enough beating of her home country on its climate change record to thrill her listeners – bright young things from the EU institutions.
She praised Europe, calling it a “miracle,” and was careful to give a nuanced answer to a question essentially asking whether she did not find all the layers of EU structure, leaders and member states rather complicated to deal with.
Democracy is by it nature complex she noted, giving a mini lecture on the dangers of “process for the sake of process.”
And that was that from her side – the highest ranking US visit to the parliament since Ronald Reagan in 1985.
You speak just like a European, Poettering marvelled before giving a rallying cry to Irish voters to say yes to the Lisbon Treaty so there can be a “united and strong” Europe. And then Clinton’s European Parliament hour was over.
Source: blogs.euobserver.com
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