The defense of reason

A country’s foreign policy is the first to be afflicted by an overload of opinions on how to move forward. But because the risks are real, everyone needs to exercise restraint: the media, which sometimes resorts to exaggerations; the opposition, which succumbs to the temptation of engaging in easy criticism; and also certain ministers, who use the opportunity to sell tough talk to their voters.

The worst we could do is let the public debate derail into a spiral of sentimental and cheap demagoguery, which in the past has cost us dearly. The country’s national interest is only served through cool-headed assessment – not grandstanding.