The continental European media swelled with excitement as Democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, clinched the nomination. Here are some of the headlines:
‘Elections US – Le message Barack Obama’ – ‘U.S. Elections – the message of Barack Obama’, France-Soir (France)
"Barack Obama premier Noir à pouvoir etre élu président' , "Barack Obama first black with the power to be elected president.' La Nouvelle République (France)
Barroso salue la victoire d'Obama' , ‘Barroso salutes Obama's victory', Le Figaro (France)
"Choix Obama: révolution des mentalités’ , 'the choice of Obama: A revolution in mentalities" – a report on the reaction of the leader of Senegal. Le Figaro (France)
"Obama, candidat historique' ,"Obama, historic candidate', Le Figaro
"Barack Obama, premier Noir à pouvoir briguer la Maison Blanche' ,Barack Obama, first black with the power to seek the White House', Libération (France)
‘Episch, historisch, einzigartig’ , ‘Epic, Historic, Unique’
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany)
‘Oh ja, Obama’ – ‘Oh Yes, Obama’, Der Suddeutschen Zeitung (Germany)
‘Obama: Mehr Softpower’ – ‘Obama: More Soft Power’, Die Zeit (Germany)
‘Lykketoft: Obama kan begejstre’ , ‘[Foreign Minister] Lykketoft: Obama can create excitement’, B.T. (Denmark)
But while Obama's victory is widely hailed, there remains some skepticism in both the British and the Continental media about Obama's ability to win the general election and whether an Obama presidency would necessarily improve transatlantic relations:
"Obama is Europe's dream candidate, but we may have to settle for McSame', Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian (UK)
"Barack Obama could win a landslide; there's only one problem , he has to convince the American public of his patriotism.' The Times (UK)
‘Obama kæmper med fire svage punkter’ – ‘Obama fights against four weak points’, Politiken (Denmark)
‘Foer Obama vantar svara utmaningar’ – ‘Difficult challenges await Obama’, Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden)
‘Barack Obama: Enttauschung programmiert’ – ‘Barack Obama: Programmed Disappointment’, Der Suddeutschen Zeitung (Germany)
Sueddeutche Zeitung says that while Barack Obama creates euphoria in Europe, he will put American interests first if he wins the Presidency
‘Obama, der Erloeser?’ – ‘Obama, the Savior?’, Die Zeit (Germany)
– ‘Obama may come, but the superpower will remain , Obama is not a savior for transatlantic relations’.
Other interesting items in recent European and world U.S. election coverage:
The Guardian (UK) reports the following comment by international media tycoon Rupert Murdoch:
“We’re on the verge of a complete phenomenon. Politicians are at an all-time low and are despised by 80 percent of the public, and then you’ve got a candidate trying to put himself out above it all. He's become a rock star. It's fantastic."
"Rupert Murdoch heaps praise on Barack Obama', The Guardian
Most headlines in Europe and the United States have tended to soften their coverage of Hillary Clinton, as she has approached the end of her race. A notable exception is the English language web version of a major Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, which published an article with the following headline,
"Defeated and pathetic – Hillary's arrogance, lust for power shames not only her but also women who backed her.", Yediot Ahronot
Ola Ulmo contributed to this post.
