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November 9, 2004
World leaders react
As an overview of diplomatic responses to President George W. Bush's reelection, this article includes reactions from more than a dozen world leaders.
Many are predictable: Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wanted to "congratulate the American people for their choice", while Hamas' Sami Abu Zuhri "urge[d] the new American administration to reconsider its positions."
Most respondents spoke of cooperation and the desire to "build bridges": French President Jacques Chirac, highly critical of recent U.S. foreign policy, discussed "our joint fight against terrorism" and Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero "expressed his wish to work with Bush."
Reuters - Bush Wins - World Leaders React
Bush Wins - World Leaders React
04/11/2004 10:07 AM
Reuters
A divided world is coming to terms with the prospect of four more years of US President George W Bush, with friends hailing his re-election and critics vowing to make the best of it, especially in Iraq.
Allies like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saw Bush's victory as bolstering the US-declared "war on terror". But some disenchanted Europeans urged him to heal transatlantic rifts.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose outspoken opposition to war in Iraq angered Washington but helped him win re-election in 2002, sought common ground with Bush.
"I will continue the good and close cooperation that we have. This is in the interests of the United States as well as those of Germany and Europe," said Schroeder on Wednesday.
French President Jacques Chirac, another fierce critic of the Iraq war, congratulated Bush and spoke of "our joint fight against terrorism".
Many Arabs forecast further bloodshed in the Middle East because of what they saw as Bush's misguided policies, but elsewhere politicians and commentators said continuity in the White House had its merits.
Bush supporters abroad focused on what they saw as the president's more resolute anti-terror line three years after the September 11 attacks.
In dramatic proof of the changes in Moscow in the past 20 years, Putin said victory for Bush meant the United States had not allowed itself to be cowed by terrorists.
"I can only feel joy that the American people did not allow itself to be intimidated, and made the most sensible decision," he told a Kremlin news conference.
Berlusconi, also in Moscow, said: "Bush will continue with the policy that assigns the United States the role of defender and promoter of freedom and democracy".
In Poland, which like Italy has troops in Iraq backing US forces, President Aleksander Kwasniewski said that on terrorism Bush "is a very decisive leader who is right, simply right" and that continued cooperation with him was "really good news".
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq after his surprise March election win following Madrid attacks claimed by a group linked to al Qaeda, expressed his wish to work with Bush.
Build Bridges
The US election was watched intently around the world with issues of deep international interest, including the Iraq conflict and the state of the US economy, dominating the race.
The European Union said it looked forward to strengthening ties with the United States.
Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik spoke for several countries when he said: "I hope that (Bush) will try to build bridges ... and do more to cooperate via international organisations."
Both sides in the Middle East conflict congratulated Bush.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in Paris, where he is undergoing medical tests, that he hoped Bush's second term would lead to Middle East peace and "guarantee the just national rights of the Palestinian people," an aide said.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose country enjoys strong support from the world's only superpower, said: "We congratulate the American people for their choice."
But with the exception of Israelis and some Iranians, Middle Eastern peoples reacted with resigned disappointment.
Khaled Maeena, editor of Saudi newspaper Arab News, said: "Four more years means (Bush) will be relentless in fighting so-called terrorism. More innocent people will be victims ... All the Saudis I've seen so far are disappointed."
Sami Abu Zuhri, of the Palestinian group Hamas which is fighting Israel, said: "We urge the new American administration to reconsider its positions.
"Until they (do so) we will continue to regard the US administration as hostile to our Arab and Muslim causes."
Analysts said Bush would need to restore goodwill eroded by US opposition to worldwide issues such as the Kyoto pact to fight global warming - a top issue for his ally Prime Minister Tony Blair - and the International Criminal Court.
"(Kyoto is) not an easy issue for Bush to shift on. He may be prepared to make some cosmetic, face-saving shifts to try and help Blair, but I can't see him making a fundamental shift of position," said British politics professor Wyn Grant.
Posted by Lena Malcolm at November 9, 2004 1:07 PM