Prop up the Middle East’s middle class today, and tomorrow it will be much easier to solve intractable political problems [XY] told a gathering of European foreign ministers on Tuesday.
Speaking in Vilnius to a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, [XY] said a successful middle class was the backbone of a healthy society, and that its formation was essential in establishing societies that reject violence as a way to solve problems, both domestically and internationally.
[XY] said the European experience has shown that the more successful a country’s middle class is, the more successful and stable that country is itself. As a result, [XY] suggested that international efforts in the Middle East focus on economic development and building up the middle class.
Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? So who said it? Well, it happens to be the guy who’s lucky if the foreign press describes him only as a “hard-liner”…
