American Election Results: The World Stands Behind Barack Obama

After the polls done by the German Marshall Fund and London-based YouGov, it was clear that Obama would win in Europe. The main reason for this is that Europeans consider Romney’s ideas too far right.

Across the political spectrum, Europeans look at President Obama as someone who is on the same wave-lengths as they are. However, in the U.S., Obama has been often criticized for being “too European.” He has enchanted Europeans with his health care policy, his devotion to the poor, and his more liberal stand towards gender and sexual orientation and climate change.

Romney, on the other hand, did not succeed in touching people with his stories about civil and human rights, nor did he win people over with his handling of the “complexity” of world politics. In other words, Romney is making his critique of European fiscal and social politics very loud, directly confronting the modern political ideas in Europe.

Because of that, some of the European high officials have breached the diplomatic code and are openly supporting Obama. One of them is the French Prime-Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who openly said that he hopes that Obama will win.

The French Minister for European Affairs has also supported Obama. Moreover, in an interview for a French radio station he said that if he were an American citizen, he would not have any doubts about voting for Obama.

Thomas Oppermann, the leader of Social Democrats in the Bundestag (the German Parliament) supports Obama because he is fighting for social equality and social justice. Furthermore, he said that Obama has stopped the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has ended the unilateralist era led by Bush and that is why, in his opinion, Europeans love him more.

On the other hand, the European politicians are not extremely happy to see that American economy is turning more and more towards China.

The German Social Democrat Oppermann continues by saying that Europe is not that important anymore for American foreign policy and that is the same with Obama and Romney.

In Spain, most of the people believe that Obama deserves a second chance and that he would show his real value during his second term in the office. In Spain, Obama has 83% of the support.

In Italy, Obama enjoys significant support, as well. An MP in the Italian Parliament Fiamm Nirestein wrote in his blog: “We know Obama. People don’t love him as much as we loved him four years ago, but they still like him.”

While Obama has wide support amongst Europeans, Romney is supported by Israel and Pakistan.

A survey by iVoteIsrael, a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote organization, found that 85% of American voters in Israel cast absentee ballots for Romney.

Pakistan as well prefers a Romney presidency. Fourteen percent of polled Pakistanis would vote Republican, against 11% Democrat. Seventy-five percent of Pakistanis do not favor either candidate.

As the election comes to a close, and it is only a matter of hours before the winner is decided, most of the world stands behind Obama. But, Americans will decide and all that Europeans can do is to send their plea for an old-new Democratic president.

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