Most governments hype success and hide failure. A few even try to celebrate their failures, in the hope they will look like successes. But these days, Europeans are pioneering the opposite approach: sexing down their achievements. The expansion of the European Union has been a triumph, bringing stability, modernisation and prosperity to new members and old. If Turkey were to join the club, both sides could get those benefits and more—the geopolitical advantage that comes from treating a moderate Islamic country as one of your own. Considering Turkey has waited decades for this moment, and considering there have been several embarrassing setbacks for the Union this year, it might have been reasonable to expect a little celebration on the day those Turkish talks started.
展开▼
