|
   
GOD of gods !
-Book of Deuteronomy 10 : 17 ...This is a continuation of a series of personal
observations of this servant of GOD...In "NO" way do we
present this observation of the natural world and of this Universe as
"DOCTRINE" nor as a "personal revelation" exclusively
given to this servant of GOD; rather we present this as something to ponder about given
the vastness of this Universe and our incredible and almost insignificant
position within it..."ALL" the information that this servant
of GOD has 'seen and heard' through the years
reveals to him that GOD did indeed "ALSO" create
numerous other creations in this Universe that serve a different
purpose to GOD...Before Genesis 1 begins 'billions upon
billions' of human earthly years had already transpired
in eternity past* ...We write this as an "apologetics response"
to the growing belief among many that we were created
by "ancient aliens" whom millions are convinced 'seeded' us
on this planet thousands of years ago; and yet others are teaching that the
"Elohim" are beings much , much wiser and advanced than us
who created us as an experiment !!!...The truth is that
there is a "Supreme Creator" who operates outside of time
and space and who is not subject to any law of this
Universe for it is "HE" who engineered every single
element within it !!!...We affirm that there is a
GOD in heaven who reveals mysteries -Daniel
2 : 28 and it is GOD who ruleth over
"ALL" the Kingdoms of men -Daniel
4 : 17...We also "affirm" that GOD has created
innumerable other creations of all kinds and for different
purposes that suit "His will" in His "Sovereignty" given
the fact that it is evident that He created different
levels even amongst the Angelic creation such as :
Archangels, Seraphims, regular Angels, Cherubim and others...In this
'planet and creation' mankind is of the highest order
but it is not so when we compare ourselves to the
Angelic creation for the Bible confirms and reveals to us
that we were created "LOWER" than the Angels and this
servant is not complaining !!! -Psalm 8 : 5 and Hebrews
2 : 7 ...We strongly believe
that there is : "One Supreme Creator" whom "EVERY"
high creation inside this Universe is subjected to and will have
to give an account to and that the name of the true one
GOD is "NOT" buddha nor allah !!!...The name of the
true Creator and GOD is : YHWH : Jehova : Jesus Christ *** ...The Holy
GOD of Israel manifested in Jesus Christ is an "Awesome
GOD" He is not just a GOD of : MILLIONS,
nor of BILLIONS but of TRILLIONS +
and so much more !!!...It is the humble prayer of this servant
of the living GOD that one day this servant of His
will be anointed to do exploits in His name for His
Honor and Glory "before" I leave this planet and this mortal
body !!! ( Daniel 11 : 32 ) ...As a student
of Theology this servant of GOD has pondered on Genesis
for many years now and this is my "Little Magnum
Opus" concerning this Universe...When I was first
studying Theology years ago I initially believed that
GOD had created man to first multiply and fill this planet
and eventually we would be allowed to conquer our solar
system and later on our Galaxy and finally the rest of the Universe
!!!...Now that I have studied the
Scriptures more in depth I realize that "WE" were
initially created to be a creation confined to only
this planet !!!...Genesis 1 : 2 states that this planet
was 'formless and empty' and not necessarily
the rest of the Universe and Genesis 1 : 26 confirms that man/woman
was only created to rule 'this planet'
right from the beginning and not the rest of the Universe
!!!...Furthermore Genesis 1 : 28 gave man authority to fill/
reproduce on this Earth/planet and subdue it and "WE"
were "NOT" destined to conquer the rest of the solar
system !!! Much less the rest of the Universe
!!!...The Book of Revelation confirms this fact, men will
"NOT" get to conquer the solar system and much
less our Galaxy in our corrupt state !!!...In Revelation
we see a World War unfold brought forth by the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the nations gathering against
Israel and the end of human governments coming to an
end in the Valley of Jehoshaphat / Armageddon !!! (
and not for the conquest of space !!! ) Some
may accuse me of reading too much into Genesis, but I
believe that every word in Genesis is there for a reason and
thus it is this poor servant of GOD "insignificant
opinion" that "YES" GOD created "numerous
other creations" in this Universe for a variety of
purposes that serve and please "Him" and it's not all
about us; it's "ALL" about "Him" !!! ...The
truth is that "ALL" who dwell in this Universe were
created for His pleasure !!!...GOD did "NOT" create all of
His creations in His image nor are all of GOD's other
creations under the same "Laws" as us, nor did
they all sin or rebelled like us *** - an insignificant observation of Mario Romano ( ALL
Glory and Honor be to Jesus Christ : Thee WORD of thee Living
GOD !!! ) ...It is very, very interesting to note that despite the
fact that there are billions of Galaxies with an even
higher number of billions of planets in them GOD will
"NOT" just make us inhabit another planet nor Galaxy
after the Millenium; but He creates the New Jerusalem
for those who were saved from this creation !!!..."Me thinks"
GOD already has all the others occupied with "different
purposes" that serve His sovereign will and let's get this
straight the Angels were "NOT" created to be our "babysitters"
they are GOD's messengers and enforcers ( armies of heaven*) and
their numbers are in the billions because the Book of Job
alludes that the morning stars of heaven are symbolic of
them and the very son's of GOD*...In other words before Genesis
1 : 1 begins "MUCH" has already transpired in eternity
past !!!...We are one of GOD's most recent creations
!!! And if wisdom allows me; I see that "we are like"
another chapter in GOD's neverending "Book of Creations"
and we will "NOT" be His last creation !!! - an insignificant perspectice of this Universe of GOD by mario
romano ...There are over
2+ million different species presently alive in our own planet...When
I see over 1,000,000+ different combinations of : abdomens,
thorax's, heads, eyes and body structures on all of these living
creatures bodies ( including our's !!! ) of
all shapes and sizes, not counting the giant dinosaurs who are extinct
and I consider the billions of Galaxies and planets out there
"ME" thinks its really a "NO" brainer !!!...GOD
is in the creating business and I seriously doubt that He
is still resting since He created and completed this creation***...I
must confess I have had no 'visions or personal revelations'
but I can read "between the lines" :
what GOD created here on planet Earth can be easily replicated
by Him in many, many of His other millions of
planets out there orbiting the billions of stars inside
of the billions of Galaxies !!!...You see GOD 's domain is not
limited to His throne in heaven and to planet Earth !!! ...The Spirit
of GOD hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath
given me life !!! - Book of Job 33 : 4 ...This poor servant of GOD has "NO" problem
sharing the love of GOD; for I know that GOD loves all of
His creations be these the billions of Angels, the millions of
Jews, the millions of Chinese souls or the billions of souls He
gave life to on this planet !!!...I truly am happy for all,
I too am thankful to GOD for having given me the opportunity
to have been born "REGARDLESS" of the : social, cultural,
economic and religious environment in which I was born
and raised; I'm just happy to be alive and I intend with
the direction of the Holy Spirit to leave this planet and this
body having fully fulfilled the purpose for which GOD created
me *** ..."Everything" that GOD created is special
to Him; for all was created by Him and for Him !!!...Whether
or not this Universe is teeming with other creations
of GOD doesn't make us any 'more or less'
special to GOD because everything and everyone that He creates holds
a unique special purpose to Him !!!!...We should remember the
parable of the "Lost Sheep" the "Owner and
Sheperd" leaves the other 99 sheep to go after the
lost and wandering sheep that has gone astray; to the Sheperd
"ALL" of His sheep are equally important to Him
!!!...It is foolish and spiritually immature to state that GOD
loves the Angels more than us or that He loves us more
than them; for GOD's love created us all !!! ...Relax, take a deep breath, be still and know that
GOD is in control ...It's not about "us" it's all about
"Him" we were created by : Him, for Him and in His image and
likeness...GOD doesn't need our help to rule the Cosmos we
were "ALL" created for His "Pleasure" ( - Revelation
4 : 11 )...The Holy Bible reveals to us that we have
all fallen short of His Glory, and that there is none
of us who indeed doeth good ( Psalms 14 : 3; Romans 3 : 10 )
the only real reason GOD didn't finished us all
off in the flood was because of His Mercy and despite the
fact that we really don't deserve His 'grace and
mercy' He hath nonetheless decided to give the "few"
who believe in Jesus Christ an eternal Kingdom (-Luke
12 : 32 ) ( "Thank Lord Jesus Christ !!!" ) ...This servant
of GOD states these words because he does not believe
in reincarnation; in meditating on the brevity of life and on
our almost insignificant role within this Universe I am
in awe of GOD Almighty as revealed to us all in this
planet and creation as the Holy GOD of Israel creator of
every atom and cell that ever was and will be !!! ...The Holy Bible never declares that we are
GODs sole creation nor His first and only sons; on the contrary
the Holy Bible reveals to us that GOD already had billions
of others which are called the Son's of GOD in
the Book of Job 38 : 7*** ...The truth is that there was "ALOT"
of things happening before Genesis 1 and there will be "ALOT"
of things happening "AFTER" Revelation 22...Our Lord Jesus
Christ even revealed to us that there will come a time in
eternity when even this "Heaven and this Earth"
will pass away !!! ...There are numerous individuals and groups throughout
this planet who are working night and day to try to
find something that will discredit the Holy Bible
and Christianity altogether just as "evolutionists" have been trying
to accomplish...The prophecies of Revelation "WARN" us that
in the end time Satan and his fallen allies will so
astonish the world when he presents them his master creation
: the Beast that was & is not and is yet to be !!! ...Some truly believe
that GOD has His hands full with us, nothing could be farther from the truth...The
truth is that we are one of GOD's most recent creations
and the truth is that GOD is a multi-tasker the
likes we can't even imagine...In His Omnipresence He is present
in "ALL" of His other creations just as He is present
in this creation on planet earth !!!...I do believe that GOD
rested on the seventh day as revealed to us in the
Book of Genesis; but what do you think that GOD has
been doing ever since ? ...In the context of eternity we are like a
millisecond, in the context of this Universe we are literally
like a grain of sand in relation to all the other heavenly
bodies that also inhabit this Cosmos !!! ...Even with all
our modern technology and even with the help of the Hubble
Telescope we will certainly never even come close to mapping
all of this Universe and I am ashamed and embarrassed that we
can't even conquer our closest neighbor : Mars
- anonymous Astronomer from NASA given in a radio interview ..."NO" financier,
manufacturer nor builder builds and creates millions of
'houses or products' solely to abandon them or leave
them to rot; the same is true of GOD...GOD did "NOT"
create billions of Galaxies and planets solely to leave them
: empty, dead and abandoned like a failed government program !!! ...Too many are
still arguing and debating whether GOD literally created this creation as
it is stated in the Book of Genesis; this servant of GOD doesn't question
the account of Genesis; what I question is how many other
creations GOD also initiated through this vast Universe !!!...I would
bet my own soul that the rest of this Universe ( 99.99 %
) of it is "NOT" : dead, abandoned nor devoid
of other forms of life !!! ...This servant of
GOD is not a Prophet but I know that GOD loves each
and everyone of His other creations just as much as He loves
us and this world for He created "ALL" and I'm not here
to play favorites, nor do I want to act like a spoiled
spiritual child *** ...Many immature Christians argue that GOD couldn't
possibly have created others because this would make us less
special...For some reason there is a growing American inspired
"Pop Theological Movement" that has been leading too
many to believe that GOD can't live without us !!!...Honey,
GOD has been existing perfectly and full of Glory long before
He created you and me !!!...The only reason He didn't destroy
all of the human race in the flood is solely because of
His Grace and Mercy !!! ...It is now 2013 and we now know that neither
our entire Milky Way Galaxy nor our solar system occupy 1%
of this Universe and I assure you that GOD did "NOT"
leave the rest of the 99.99% of the Universe dead and
abandoned !!! ...GOD created numerous other creations in this Universe
and in eternity past for 'different purposes' that suit
His "SOVEREIGN" will yet all of us who are created
by His breath of life were all created solely for His
pleasure ( Revelation 4 : 11 *)...This servant of GOD is "NOT"
complaining about not having been created an Angel or a
Jew; I'm just grateful that GOD created you and me too
!!! ...Let's get this straight, only GOD is "PERFECT."
...GOD created all of His creations complete and innocent both
the fallen Angels and fallen mankind "Chose" to rebel and
disobey GOD out of our own free will..."NO" I do not believe that
GOD put a tree of good and evil in other creations;
to even think so is to lack imagination and no GOD did
not fill the rest of this Universe solely with other beings
created in His image ...To some believers it is almost a taboo to
talk about the state of the Universe before Genesis 1 as
if GOD has anything to hide or be ashamed of !!!...The truth
is that billions upon billions of human years had already transpired
in eternity past long before GOD created man and woman in
this sector of this Universe !!!...In His sovereignty GOD maintains
different pacts and covenants with each of His other creations...As students of
the WORD of GOD we know that the Angelic creation
was created with a different purpose by GOD and they were
judged differently than humans when they rebelled against thee
Holy GOD long before you and I were created by GOD*** ..."NO" our
Lord and Saviour : Jesus Christ did "NOT" also died for
all of GOD's other creations !!!...Whoever told you that
all of His creations rebelled against Him ?...The truth is that
there was a very, very long period in eternity past
when even Lucifer had not yet rebelled nor tempted any of
GOD's children into disobedience and rebellion !!!...It should be apparent
to any mature believer and student of the WORD of GOD that
in His "Sovereignty" GOD created each of His many
creations with different purposes and with different pacts; "ALL"
of eternity does "NOT" centers on this creation; GOD created
all with a different purpose and as thee Creator of "ALL"
He has a unique love for "ALL" of His children*** ...Please don't get
me wrong and don't misunderstand what this poor servant of GOD
is trying to say...This creation ( us, we *) fell, rebelled against GOD
and we do need redemption and Hell does exist and had it
not been for the direct intervention of GOD none of us
would have ever been born to begin with !!!...I know that
Jesus Christ is GOD in the flesh, for the WORD became flesh
and dwelt amongst men !!!...In the meantime as we ponder
about the very likely possibility that GOD filled this Universe
with diverse other creations you and I are still stuck
on planet Earth and it is necessary that we fight the good
fight !!! ( 1 Timothy 6 : 12 ) ...Whether or not this Universe is teeming
with life is really of no concern to us, what is of
importance is Jesus Christ thee WORD of GOD who created
everything in all the heavens and on this earth !!!...What every
human being does with Jesus Christ will determine their eternal
fate !!!...I address this subject and topic as a student of
apologetics; for there is a time and a place for everything
under heaven... I like Job stated : "Know that my Redeemer
lives !!!" and that with mine own eyes I shall behold Him
one day and "ALL" my questions shall be answered...In the
meantime I know that GOD loves you as much as He loves
me and that He has the same love for the rest of the
6+ billion other souls who are presently alive on planet earth***...I
know that had GOD destroyed this rebellious creation during
the great flood and destroyed Earth "NO" one would have
really missed us...If there is anything or anyone : good, true
and compassionate in the Universe it is its' : architect,
producer and Creator : Jesus Christ : Thee WORD of GOD by
which all things were created and who sustains "ALL" solely
by the power of His WORD !!! ***Under Construction, Not Yet Completed*** ______________________________ - Mario Romano
believes in heaven and in hell and despite the fact that
we have all sinned against a very Holy GOD; GOD nevertheless
has gone out of His way to redeem the human race unto
Himself through what Jesus Christ accomplished at the Cross of
Calvary...Mario believes in the full Gospel of Jesus Christ... "THIS"
creation rebelled against its maker : GOD and He has been
going out of His way to redeem mankind back unto Himself;
GOD did "NOT" abandoned us; had He done so we would
have successfully killed off one another long ago !!! ( we're
wickedly good at that !!! ) or He would have allowed
Satan and his demons to finish us all off long ago***  
...We cannot
study end time Bible Prophecy without ROME somehow being mentioned...Rome
has played some of the key roles in the fulfillment of
Bible Prophecy for out of Rome came the orders to destroy
the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It were the Roman's who
initiated the second Jewish diaspora in in 70A.D as they expelled most
of the Jews out of Israel and into all the corners of
the world to escape death...It were the Romans who according
to Josephus slaughtered a little over 1+ million Jews in the process,
only Hitler would surpass that number some 1900 years later ! ___________________________________________ ...EuropeinProphecy.com and Mario Romano
a student of Bible Prophecy "Affirms" that the Roman
Vatican will play a grand and key role in
the fulfillment of key Prophecies found in the Book of Revelation
and we assert that it will most definitely will "NOT"
be a "Holy Role !!!" _______________________________________________ ...Unfortunately, most Roman Catholic religious orders do
"NOT" teach their followers the need to be "BORN AGAIN"
and this is why most Roman Catholic's will "NOT" be
saved...Some argue that Roman Catholics believe in GOD and they
do ! but the same can be said of our Jewish friends who
also believe in GOD but refuse to believe or accept Jesus
( Yeshua ) as the Messiah...The problem with Roman Catholicism is that
most of what it teaches is "NOT" based on the Bible
but based on doctrines made up by men and on religious rituals
that do "NOT" have the power to save a fly ! _____________________________________________ ...The
truth is that Roman Catholic's do "NOT" see the Book
of Revelation as you and I do...To begin with, the truth
is that most Roman Catholics throughout this world are Biblically
illiterate __________________________________________ ...According to the Prophecies found in the Book of
Revelation ROME will play a key role in these last days,
and no other institution inside of Rome comes close in eclipsing
the vatican which is quite literally located almost in the heart
of the modern city of Rome in Italy... _________________________________________ ...The Bible speaks of a second Beast ( the False
prophet ) rising out of the earth after the first Beast ( the
Anti-Christ ) according to the top Bible Prophecy teachers the false
prophet will be a Jew, according to other teachers he will be
a Muslim; this servant of GOD has for the past 20+years believed
that it will be a future Pope and I have not changed
my mind; and let me explain to you why a future Pope is most likely to
be the False Prophet spoken of by the Book of Revelation...First
of all you and I know that most of the world hates the Jews,
why would the world listen to a Jewish religious leader? and why can't
it be an Islamic religious leader ? well first of all Islam
does "NOT" have any religious leader that resembles the Papacy
in any way shape or form, Islam has been undergoing a major
religious civil war for decades if not centuries !!! each
Islamic country has its own religious figure ____________________________________________ ...When the Rapture occurs and most Roman catholics
are left behind you will quickly come to understand why the
Vatican will be put on the spotlight
 Sarkozy spent half of 2008 as King of the
World Paris - When French President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to Washington in mid-November
to participate in the G20 summit on the financial crisis, the weekly Journal du Dimanche titled a behind-the scenes story
about his trip "Sarkozy as Master of the World."The fawning report depicted Sarkozy as the meeting's top dog:
"Sarkozy lectures his partners, the masters of the world: 'At the end of the day, we must all have the same message.'
He brandishes a paper, he speaks to them - Bush, Lula, Merkel, Brown, Hu Jintao - as if he were briefing them for a meeting." Le
Journal du Dimanche is owned by Sarkozy's good friend and loyal supporter Arnaud Lagardere, so it can be assumed that
the tenor of the story reflected the president's own view of the event - and of himself. And he did not even seem
to be wrong. Calendar, character and the haphazard eruption of historical events combined to thrust the 55- year-old Sarkozy
into the role of being, at least for a few months, one of the most influential leaders in the world. The calendar saw
to it that France took over the rotating six-month EU presidency on July 1. History provided a series of crises, beginning
with Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty in June, the Russia-Georgia war in August and the global financial and economic
crisis. It also provided a power vacuum which he could exploit: US President George W Bush was unpopular at home and
derided abroad; British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was trying to save his political neck; and Barack Obama had not yet become
the US president-elect and messiah of world politics. Sarkozy's energy, ambition and deep love of the limelight
did the rest. It is important to remember that Sarkozy has always known how to exploit crises for his own needs. In
May 1993, when he was mayor of the posh Paris suburb of Neuilly, he decided on his own to negotiate with a madman who held
more than 20 children hostage at a local nursery school. He managed to walk out of the school with several of the children
- becoming an instant star - before police killed the hostage taker. Sarkozy's response to the various crises that
he had to confront as EU head was to take personal charge of the responses, to bully his EU partners and to call one emergency
summit meeting after the other. This suited him so well that even critics were impressed. "Sarko superstar. Almost
bigger than he sees himself... which is a performance in itself," wrote the left-wing daily Liberation, in spite of itself. "In
a time of crisis, hyperactive becomes energetic, overbearing becomes dogged, and unpredictable becomes pragmatic," a
German diplomat said. Sarkozy single-handedly forced his 27 EU colleagues into agreeing on a unified and surprisingly
muscular stance vis-a-vis Moscow. He then traveled to the Kremlin to convince Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
and President Dmitry Medvedev to accept the EU ultimatum and, according to the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, not string
up Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "by the balls." When you are king of the world, you can apparently
even tell the bellicose Putin that hanging the leader of another country is a bad idea. The king of the world can also
demand, as Sarkozy did, that the heads of the world's most important economic powers gather to construct "the foundation
of an entrepreneurial capitalism instead of a speculative capitalism" and "to build the beginning of a new financial
world as they did in Bretton Woods." The 1944 international meeting in Bretton Woods established the rules for
commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states. But, as Sarkozy also found out, you
can demand it, but you can not make it happen. Putin did not hang Saakaschvili, but he got what he wanted, i.e. Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, and there will almost certainly be no new capitalism, no second Bretton Woods. Equally, Sarkozy cannot
be king forever: in fact, although his reign officially ends at midnight December 31, Obama shoved him off the throne in early
November. Nevertheless, Sarkozy liked being top dog so well that he began a campaign of press leaks to have himself
crowned king of the eurozone, once his EU mandate ends. This angered the current master of the euro, euro-group head
Jean-Claude Juncker, as well as the government of the Czech Republic. As Prague succeeds France in the EU presidency, it felt
- no doubt correctly - that Sarkozy did not trust the Czechs adequately to fill his shoes. After his ploy failed, he
swiftly organized an international meeting on the financial crisis in early January, to be co-hosted with another former master
of the world, Tony Blair. Sarkozy has a hard time letting go. It's not surprising. Once you have been king of the
world, how can you be happy being the king of mere France?
Europe must not remain a military 'dwarf': Sarkozy Brussels -
12.12. 2008
Europe must not remain a military "dwarf," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday,
as EU leaders vowed to boost military resources so the bloc can live up to its security ambitions.
"Europe cannot
be a dwarf in terms of defence and a giant in economic matters, it's just not possible," he told reporters after
chairing a two-day summit in Brussels. Sarkozy said that the leaders had gone some way to changing things by making
"extremely important" commitments to upgrade Europe's military and civilian security capabilities. France,
which is wrapping up its turn at the rotating EU presidency, has made the strengthening of European defence capacities a condition
for fully reintegrating into the NATO alliance. But NATO, particularly heavyweight members the United States and Britain,
has always been concerned that strengthening Europe's defences could create double-up or competition for scarce military
resources. The EU and NATO have 21 member countries in common. The United States spends more on defence than the
27 EU nations combined and has regularly pressured its European allies to increase defence spending to a minimum of two percent
of gross domestic product. Sarkozy did not say whether the progress made at the summit would be enough for him to announce
France's full return to NATO at the alliance's 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany in
April. In a statement, the EU leaders committed Friday "to make good the inadequate resources available in Europe
by gradually improving civilian and military capabilities." "This effort is also the prerequisite for allowing
Europeans to assume in a credible and effective manner their responsibilities under a renewed transatlantic partnership." To
give "fresh impetus" to EU policy, the leaders set targets for the kinds of civilian and military operations they
want to be able to conduct in coming years and commit "to develop robust, flexible and interoperable capabilities". The
EU should be capable of deploying a total of 60,000 troops in 60 days for a major operation, while "planning and conducting
simultaneously" 19 other missions, ranging from maritime surveillance to police training. No target date is set
but this should be possible "in the years ahead." Military officers have said privately that the EU's
defence ambitions have long-been set too high. A set of almost identical targets published in 1999 was due to have been met
by 2003 but that deadline slipped.
Sarko shines as EU leader in very tough times Brussels 12.1.2008 French
President Nicolas Sarkozy's six-month spell at the European Union's helm has played to his strengths as a pragmatist
who thrives in a crisis, consolidating his position as a key player on the global stage. With less than three weeks
to go before France hands over the EU's rotating presidency to the Czech Republic, Sarkozy clinched a deal among the bloc's
27 member states to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a fifth by 2020, completing the toughest of the goals he gave himself
at the outset. Sarkozy's half-year was dominated by unexpected events such as the war between Russia and Georgia
and then the global financial crisis, which he used to strengthen his statesman's credentials and further the causes of
the EU and France. "The presidency was globally positive,"
said Dominique Moisi, special adviser to foreign policy think-tank IFRI. "Europe gave the impression that it existed
on the international level with the crisis in the Caucasus, on the financial level with the Brown plan applied broadly by
Sarkozy, and on the economic level with a Keynesian stimulus," he said. Sarkozy's diplomatic activity has also
helped bolster his image at home. His approval ratings have improved significantly since the start of the EU presidency, when
voters were disillusioned with his confrontational manner, celebrity lifestyle, and inability to tackle the rising cost of
living. Just weeks after he had started his new European job, Sarkozy flew to Russia
and Georgia to broker a ceasefire. Russian forces that were approaching the Georgian capital soon turned around and
largely withdrew to within Georgia's two pro-Russian separatist regions, over which Moscow and Tbilisi are holding a series
of talks that look set to last a long time. Never before had the EU been alone in resolving a major international crisis
and the peace deal was the first of several diplomatic triumphs for Sarkozy. But here, as in the crises that followed, his
exact legacy remains to be seen. "It is too early to say. We will see in six months, at the end of the Czech presidency,
if Sarkozy's presidency was enough to put Europe back on the right track or simply an illusion that lasted a few months
and solved no major problems," Moisi said. Weaknesses As the shockwaves from the collapse
of US investment bank Lehman Brothers spread to Europe in the autumn, Sarkozy again turned a crisis into an opportunity, calling
the first ever summit of leaders from the 15 countries in the euro zone. France had been pushing before its presidency
for such a summit to promote bolder coordinated action but it abandoned the idea in the face of stiff resistance from Germany. At
the Paris summit also attended by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose own bank rescue plan formed the backbone of the
European package, heads of state and government agreed on coordinated measures to shore up their financial sectors. "It
was absolutely critical in stopping an extraordinarily dangerous spiral of market collapse, and from that point of view I
think it will remain a historic moment," said Nicolas Veron, research fellow at think-tank Bruegel. France's
outgoing minister for European affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, said: "Nothing will ever be the same again." A
taboo had been broken and euro zone leaders will now meet whenever economic conditions demand, he said. There, too,
the lasting impact will not be clear for months at least, but France's failure to convince all its partners, and Germany
in particular, of the need for an EU bank rescue fund or a large economic stimulus show there were limits to its success. Sarkozy's
directness won him praise in tortuous EU talks but it can border on reckless improvisation, as when he announced his plan
for a Mediterranean Union without consulting Germany. The project was set up at a summit in Paris in July but only after
it was heavily watered down at an angry Germany's behest. "Sarkozy, in the context of Franco-German relations
in any case, is no visionary. He is a pragmatist who thinks from one situation to the next," said Martin Koopmann, coordinator
for European policy at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Sarkozy angered Berlin again last month when he complained that
it was not pulling its weight in an EU-wide economic stimulus plan, lamenting publicly that "while France is acting,
Germany is thinking", but Koopmann said the damage was limited. "It (the presidency) went significantly better
than was initially feared on the German side," he said. China was another weak point. Analysts said Sarkozy's
inconsistent approach was to blame for Beijing's cancellation of a summit with the EU after he met the Dalai Lama. The
question is now how he will handle the loss of his EU mantle and the arrival of US President-elect Barack Obama. "He
is no longer the king of the world," Moisi said.
|
