The World in Unison With the U.S.

The election of the American president was unanimously welcomed.

Barack Obama’s victory was welcomed by the whole world as a sign of “change and hope”.

From the traditional supporters of Washington to the camp most hostile toward American hegemony, Barack Obama’s victory was welcomed either with optimism, or with a silent joy.

The Prime Minister of the biggest democracy in the world, Manmohan Singh, has invited the freshly elected president to visit India as soon as possible. A little earlier, after praising the opening of “a new historical era” in all nations, Chinese president Hu Jintao had claimed that he wanted “to raise the constructive relationship between China and the United States up to a new level”.

SOME RESERVE…

As a spokesman of the European Union, French president Nicolas Sarkozy considered it’s “the choice of an open America, strong and unified, which will show the way along with its partners, setting an example and sticking to its principles”.

In Russia, President Dimitri Medvedev soberly hoped that the new American administration will opt for “good relationships’ with Moscow. In Asia, the enthusiasm of the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, of the Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, of the president of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo, and of the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono strongly contrasts with the reticence of the Pakistani Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza, and the leader of the Iraqi diplomacy, Hoshyar Zebari. The Democrat candidate had announced during his campaign that he would withdraw the majority of American troops from Iraq 16 months after he took up his duties.

In Latin America, from the large Mexican neighbour to Hugo Chavez and his Venezuela, from Evo Moralez and his Bolivia, Cristina Kirchner and her Argentina, Barack Obama’s election has created a unanimous trust. Paradoxally, only the principle ally of the United States in the region, Columbian president Alavaro Uribe, ideologically close to the Bush administration, could, singularly, not share this enthusiasm.

NEAR EAST

The South-African president Kgalema Mothlanthe sent a message to Barack Obama, which summed up the position and opinion of a whole continent: “This victory carries hope for millions of your compatriots and for millions of people with African origins.”

In the Near East, the foreign office spokesman, Yigal Talmor, said that ”the relationships between Israel and the United States are promised a beautiful future”.

The president of the Palestinian Authoity, Mahmoud Abbas, urged Obama to “to accelerate the efforts that previously have been undertaken so as to ensure peace in the Near East”.

For its part, the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, which has control over the Gaza territory, has encouraged the elected president “to draw lessons from previous mistakes”. Finally, the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Budd congratulated Obama on making Martin Luther King’s “dream” come true.