Obamania: The View From Europe

Barack Obama's sudden and monumental win in Iowa followed by his surprising and poll-defying loss in New Hampshire has been followed closely by the European press, probably to a greater degree than any party primary season in US history.

Obama's initial win in Iowa dominated front pages and TV screens across Europe. Besides the fact that he was unknown in Europe, the particular focus for the continent seemed to be on Obamas race. Europe’s media, accustomed now to viewing the US with exasperation, almost seemed to be at a loss for how to cover the Iowa result, such was their astonishment.

The Times of London proclaimed that race relations in the US has been, “reshaped by the son of a Kenyan goatherd." Obama dominated the front pages Friday of The Guardian, The Independent and the Telegraph, which also ran big spreads inside on the candidate. In Germany, the Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung wrote, "Iowa is a U.S. state where people have surnames such as Kastner, Best or Danielson. They are white, raise pigs or cultivate corn, and in the history of their state have never elected an African-American to any office," (quote courtesy of the Globe and Mail). The paper also featured a huge photo of Obama beneath the headline "Whites select black."

Of course it’s not hard to see why Obama’s race was such a particular focus in Europe, because, as many editorials conceeded, such a result would never be possible anywhere on their continent.

Yet another main focus for the European press was the drastic change in direction seeming to be suggested by Obama's win. Paris's Le Monde proclaimed, "The Greater America opts for the New Man," The editors of Libération wrote, "After eight years of depressing developments, finally some good news from the United States." The paper continued, "Barack Obama is an exemplar of the American tradition of pluralism ... Obama embodies the transformation, and it goes beyond his colour ... This is the man who could reconcile America with itself and with the rest of the world."

New Hampshire

Yet the European press's reaction to Obama's loss in New Hampshire seemed to suggest that though there was significant interest in Obama, this has not translated into enthusiasm here. One could detect a distinct sigh of relief in the European coverage of Hillary's New Hampshire win on Wednesday.

Part of this of course is that they know Hillary, they adored Bill Clinton and are eager to see a return to the Clinton years. They know almost nothing about Obama, and being removed from the domestic situation in the US they can't quite understand the enthusiasm for a man who has outlined comparatively little of his actual platform or policy plans.

And from a European perspective, what they do know they don't like. An article in The Times of London
in December first started spreading the fear that Obama wasn't all that
interested in or knowledgeable about Europe. The article pointed out
that although Obama has been chairman of the Senate European
Subcommittee since he became a senator in 2004 , he has failed to
convene a single policy meeting of the group. He's also only made one
brief official visit to London, and none to the rest of Western Europe.
In fact there has been speculation that Obama hasn't travelled in Europe at all, even on an informal level. The campaign has been slow and vague in denying this.

This
of course contrasts with Clinton's extensive visits to Europe in an
unofficial and official capacity and her close contact with European
leaders.

But beyond the distrust Europeans feel about Obama's
enthusiasm for Europe, there is also another hesitation, particularly
in the UK. As one Scottish lawyer put it, "I think we all view Obama
with some distrust because we were burned so bad by Tony Blair, who
came in with that same promise of renewal and hope but turned out to be
just like the rest of them."

Of course the extent to which this
is true of Blair can be debated, but considering the prevailing mood
about Blair's legacy here in the UK at the moment it's not surprising
that they would view a 'reformer' whipping people into a frenzy of hope
and enthusiasm across the pond with a bit of cynicism.