Obama? Just Another American President

Europe is becoming disillusioned with Obama. When all is said and done, Europe’s leaders understand that they are dealing with a president who represents familiar American interests.

Barack Obama is a very popular American president in Europe. This can change once Europeans realize that what Obama has been claiming for a while is actually true: he is not less American than his predecessors.

This week, Obama faces his first test in front of the old world’s leaders, for whom he is still somewhat of a riddle. They do not want to quarrel with him, but their concerns on the matter are only increasing.

In any case, whoever thought that a change in administration would conceal the fundamental gaps between the U.S. and Europe was wrong. It hasn’t happened and it can’t happen.

Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter, the new director of policy planning at the State Department, complimented the Europeans recently for “having a phone number,” opposite from the famous comment made by Henry Kissinger who complained about the lack of address on the eastern side of the Atlantic. But a telephone is only the first stage, as important as it may be. In the second stage, one should also check what the receiving end has to say.

Five years ago, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder chose to clash with the Bush administration over the war in Iraq. Most likely he was truly against the war, but there is room to suspect that he also recognized an opportunity for political gain. The Germans, he hoped, would appreciate a leader who stood in Bush’s way, one of the American leaders Europe loved to hate. Angela Merkel, who succeeded Schroeder, changed the tone of the relationship. Although she did not support the war in Iraq, under the new circumstances she accepted it as an existing fact. Bush appreciated her matter-of-fact approach and they refrained from public quarrels.

And so politics rolls, albeit not always in the expected direction. It seems Obama, of all people, is the one Merkel is having slight difficulty with. Iraq is no longer on the line, but rather Obama’s economic plan. He wants increased contribution from Europe, while she joined forces with those who refuse this measure. The crisis created by the Americans must be solved with their own means.

Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Merkel’s solid stance on this matter coincides in timing with that of Schroeder’s rebellion against Bush. She, too, has election-related considerations. She must also think about what will appeal more to the German people: cooperation with the American rock star, or a substantial show of force and German independence.

The Europeans are beginning to digest the possibility of Obama disappointing them. It is a two-way process, however, since Obama himself has reason not to be content. Last week, he declared a new strategy by which to handle the problematic issue of Pakistan and Afghanistan; a statement that did not include, for the time being, an increase of European contribution to the joint military effort. The White House did not even make a request, it only stated that each country will “decide for itself” what it wants to contribute. This, of course, is a lame display. The request was not made because the Europeans have signaled that they would refuse it. Obama did not receive anything from Gordon Brown when Brown visited the White House, and it is not clear whether he will get anything during his current visit to Europe.

Obama’s visit will be, in a number of ways, a mirror image to that of his predecessor George Bush. In Britain, for instance, Bush found a friend and partner in Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he was not able to find his way to the heart of the British public. Obama seems to suffer from the opposite problem: a public that is head over heels and a leadership that is frowning its forehead with a measure of skepticism. He might very well be more pleasant, soft spoken, handsome and charismatic than Bush, but Obama’s foreign policy does not vary significantly in its critical components than that of the former president. Obama is busy revamping, not destroying, the existing American policy around the globe. Even Obama’s overseas fans better get used to the idea.