Borrell attacks show that war and party politics are an uneasy mix
Wars and partisan politicking are seldom a good mix. But that has not stopped EPP leader Manfred Weber from strongly criticising Josep Borrell’s response to Hamas’ terror attack that killed more than 1400 people.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief should have been in Israel with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offering “unambiguous support” for Israel, Weber said last week, adding that “we question whether he is still up to the job”.
There is no reason to doubt Weber’s sincerity but the personal nature of these attacks on Borrell – which have not been taken up by other political groups – look misplaced. Borrell does not have a reputation for soft-peddling on Hamas. He has consistently condemned terrorist attacks by Hamas while also criticising breaches of international law by Israeli governments in the occupied territories. “We all must stand up and defend peace, international law, and humanitarian law everywhere, everywhere in the world at all times,” European Council President Charles Michel told reporters following a virtual summit of EU leaders earlier this week. Yet Michel has not been lampooned by the EPP. This might have something to do with the fact that, unlike Borrell, he is not a socialist. The 7 October attacks had to be condemned unreservedly. But it is also clear that we are at the start of a war that will leave tens of thousands of casualties but will also certainly affect the geopolitical balance and, possibly, the EU’s political relations in the Middle East and in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. As Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski reported, a group of EU governments are concerned that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has overstepped her remit with her unflinching backing of Israel. Looked at this way, there is an argument that Borrell’s caution is the more prudent course. In contrast, the trips by Blinken and President Joe Biden have achieved little. An open letter to President von der Leyen, purporting to be from EU staff, which Euractiv received, points to the “seeming indifference demonstrated over the past few days by our Institution toward the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip”. The fallout from the attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza has underscored the limits of political and public support for Israel just days after the outrage that rightly followed the 7 October attacks. It is still unclear who was responsible for the attack, which Israel asserts was the result of a Hamas missile, but that did not stop African Union leader Moussa Faki, and several European political leaders, from being quick to accuse Israel of a ‘war crime’. Meanwhile, thousands of people have poured onto European streets in support of Palestine. While European leaders need to be united, they should also refrain from pouring any more petrol on the fire. | 