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World leaders await election outcome
Posted Wed, 03 Nov 2004
World leaders keenly awaited the outcome of the US presidential election Wednesday, with many urging the new White House administration to seize the chance to repair ties battered by the war in Iraq.
As the cliff-hanger election saw incumbent President George W. Bush edging ahead of Democrat rival John Kerry, many countries said one of the challenges facing the incoming president would be working to dispel lingering enmity.
"Under Bush, tensions developed between Europe and the United States. I hope he will try to build bridges and that he will put more focus on international cooperation," urged Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.
Early pledges
There were early pledges from US diplomats that efforts would be made to heal divisions, but many observers remained sceptical of any changes in foreign policy, whoever wins.
"Regardless of who gets into the White House, you're going to see a renewed commitment to reach out to Europe," the US ambassador to the European Union Rockwell Schnabel told reporters in Brussels.
"You're going to see a United States that is interested in listening to your concerns, that is going to be dealing with you, coming from humility and coming from respect," he pledged.
Ties strained over Iraq
Ties between the EU and Washington were severely strained by the launch of the war in Iraq in March 2003, and Germany's coordinator for transatlantic relationships Karsten Voigt said a new beginning in European-American relations was both "possible and desirable".
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier also said it was time for a new phase in Franco-American relations in a multipolar world.
Germany and France were among the most vocal opponents of the war to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, which has left tens of thousands of coalition troops in the country fighting a bloody and dangerous insurgency.
Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said he hoped nothing would change in the role the US-led coalition plays in Iraq whoever won the US presidential election.
"Whoever is the winner will be our friend. The United States has liberated us from a dictator and a very long period of war and agony," Allawi told the daily La Repubblica ahead of a visit to Italy Thursday.
Worries over Middle East
But many countries remain worried about the foreign policy pursued by the Bush administration, and its implications for the Middle East if he is re-elected.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said they were concerned about the prospect, with the Middle East peace process seemingly in tatters.
And in an indication that it would prove to be business as usual under a new Bush administration, Israel said it did not expect to come under any extra US pressure to move the peace process forward.
Japan and Poland, each supporters of the war, said their alliances with the United States would remain strong regardless of who moved into the White House.
Bush victory welcomed
Poland, which has supplied troops to the US-led coalition in Iraq, clearly favoured the incumbent. "We like strong and decisive leaders, whom we can judge by their acts and not their words. George Bush is closer to us with his actions. He is predictable and strong," Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski told Polish public radio.
Leaders of Italy's ruling centre-right coalition also welcomed the possibility of Bush's re-election.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Bush would likely be re-elected and that he did not expect major policy changes.
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