Main focus of Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Change in the US

The Democrat Barack Obama has won the US elections and will be the first black man to take up office in the White House. The European press welcomes the change in the United States.

NRC Handelsblad - Netherlands

Obama symbolises "a multicultural ideal that since the 1990s seemed to be fading worldwide," writes the national newspaper NRC Handelsblad. "But his ambition to reunite the country conflicts with the progressive programme his party and progressive interest groups expect of him. ... The durability of the multicultural coalition will be put to the test sooner than people appeared to expect on yesterday's historical election day." (05/11/2008)

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El País - Spain

The Spanish newspaper El País writes: "It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the fact that the Americans have voted in a black president for the first time in their history. This is as surprising as it is revolutionary. And this word is by no means an exaggeration when you consider that just 50 years ago in the land of opportunity black people had to give up their seats to white people on public buses, while in other states the army had to escort black students on their way to school." (05/11/2008)

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Handelsblatt - Germany

The daily Handelsblatt praises the United States' decision in the elections. "It is a skill for which the world envies this country: it is always capable of self-renewal. ... Where other nations confronted with crises and war prefer to play it safe and avoid risk, America does the opposite. It is putting its faith in a man who represents hope and change - with all the opportunities and risks this entails. Not only have the citizens of the US elected an African-American as president for the first time ever, they have voted for a break with the past and a new beginning." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Markus Ziener

Les Echos - France

The business newspaper Les Echos believes change is the top priority for the US now: "America has elected its new president, but the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new America. ... Last night's elections bore testimony to a desire for change ... [The new president's] task is to persuade and seduce rather than prevail. In short, he is there to give us back a more lovable America." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Henri Gibier

De Morgen - Belgium

Martin Luther King's dream has come true with the election of a black US president, writes the daily newspaper De Morgen: "This dream promised that one day segregation and racism would be overcome, that change and improvement are achievable and that slowly but surely a more just and ethical world is possible. Obama's election doesn't spirit away the gap between the races, but it is an incredibly strong signal that America is still the country of unlimited opportunites for every individual." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Yves Desmet

Ta Nea - Greece

"Obama's victory has changed our image of America", writes the daily Ta Nea. "The impossible has happened. ... Obama's method has changed our view of politics, and this will have a profound influence on the fight for political power in every democratic country." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Alexis Kalokerinos

Corriere del Ticino - Switzerland

For the Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino, Obama's election offers new hope for the future: "In the midst of the financial crisis America ... has cast its vote. Meanwhile the military and political difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan ... have seriously damaged its conviction that it was the only superpower. Yet even in such difficult times, with this exercise in democracy America has reasserted its role as the cradle of courage for the West. America has made its choice and voted for change: for a young president, black and relatively inexperienced, who nonetheless is a symbol of hope and embodies the American dream." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » U.S.

Hírszerző - Hungary

Blogger Miklós Tallián takes a dim view of Obama's election victory. "What had hitherto been merely conjecture became reality last night: America has elected the first black president in its history. But the fact that Obama is black is the least interesting thing about him. Much more interesting is where he will situate himself among the worst presidents of the 20th century, these being F. D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and of course Jimmy Carter. ... America is a strong and proud country, it has won two world wars, it has survived the presidents named above and it will also survive Obama." (05/11/2008)

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The Independent - United Kingdom

The liberal newspaper The Independent writes: ""Mr Obama comes to office with a fund of goodwill, at home and abroad. He may prove a disappointment, not least because expectations have been set unreasonably high. But the greatest presidents – George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt – were great precisely because they overcame huge challenges. Today's fraught circumstances mean Barack Obama has the chance to join their number." (05/11/2008)

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Correio da Manhã - Portugal

The daily Correio da Manhã sees Obama's victory as a triumph of democracy. It writes that these US elections were the "most important of this century": "It may be premature to say this because the century has only just begun, but without doubt they constitute an important cornerstone for this century. ... A country that has presented one of the best election campaigns in history, that has found solutions for the political and economic crisis, but above all that involved society as a whole in the debate about its future is a shining example for the world. ... In these presidential elections, in which the turnout was so great, the true victor is democracy." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Eduardo Dâmaso

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