MEXICAN STANDOFF….We’ve been hounding President Vicente Fox of Mexico for weeks to get his vote in the Security Council. President Bush has made veiled threats, the Economist reports that American businessman have been warning their counterparts that contracts and partnerships could be at stake, and on Monday our ambassador to Mexico asked, “Will American attitudes be placated by half-steps or three-quarter-steps? I kind of doubt it.”
Unfortunately for Mr. Fox, his constituents are opposed to war by a huge margin. So what to do? Answer: go into hiding.
By day’s end, Mr. Fox announced that he would undergo spinal surgery on Wednesday and remain out of public view until the weekend. While on the operating table, he will temporarily transfer presidential power to his interior minister, Santiago Creel. The unexpected surgery is likely only to prolong the diplomatic agony.
That’s the kind of decisive action I like to see! I sure wouldn’t want to be in this Creel fellow’s shoes, though.
