IT’S GOING FROM BAD TO WORSE FOR CHIRAC:

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – French President Jacques Chirac sparked outrage on Tuesday after a tirade against east European candidates who took a pro-American stance on Iraq marred an EU summit which united to send a final warning to Baghdad. . . .

Many were seething at Chirac’s charges at a closing news conference on Monday night that their joint statements siding with Washington were “childish and irresponsible” and could damage their prospects of joining the bloc. . . .

Liberal Democrat leader Graham Watson called it “gratuitous and condescending.” Hans-Georg Poettering, leader of the center-right European People’s Party, the largest grouping, warned against pitting eastern against western Europe, or the EU against the United States.

“Were we to define our relationship in such a way that European integration is seen as something running counter to our relations with the United States, then we would be jeopardizing the future of the European Union,” he said.

“We would be forcing the candidate countries to side always with the United States. Because of their historical experiences, they always feel that they can get more support and succor from the American side in an emergency,” Poettering added.

Yes, no one wants to have to rely on France in a crisis. Perhaps Chirac should think about why that’s so. And he should know that you don’t pull the “it’s me or him!” trick unless you’re absolutely sure the answer won’t be “him.”

I thought the French were supposed to be sophisticated about these things.

UPDATE: And Sylvain Galineau has polling data suggesting things aren’t as good for Chirac, or as bad for Blair, as some seem to think.

And here’s a proposal to replace France with Japan on the Security Council.