Obama-Hollande: The Exchanges Should Go Well

François Hollande must go to the United States his first week in office. Despite some friction, diplomatic exchanges with Barack Obama should go over well.

This is the other major event on the international scene to mark the beginning of François Hollande’s five-year term. After Germany, the new French president will have to meet with Barack Obama in the United States to defend his vision of the game of diplomacy. Hollande will be in the U.S. from May 18 to 21 for the G8 Summit at Camp David and a NATO summit in Chicago. It cannot be assumed that Socialist will be on safe territory.

This is, first and foremost, because left-wing governments are never regarded favorably on the other side of the Atlantic, where the term “socialist” is highly associated with the darker notion of “communism.” Secondly, Obama’s reelection campaign is in full force and he is already accused of being too far to the left by his opposition.

For appearances, some muscle flexing can be expected from the American side. But in terms of substance, the two men should get along. There is on probable point of friction: Afghanistan. During his campaign, Hollande promised the withdrawal of 3,600 French soldiers before the end of 2012, while Nicolas Sarkozy had spoken of 2013. This decision that could be made quickly and bother the Obama administration in terms of its own decision to withdraw, a move that is still highly contested by Republicans.

Support Against Merkel?

In the economy department, even if CNN affirmed a few days ago that Hollande would be a problem for Wall Street, he doesn’t really seem to be one for Obama. The American president has never been a great fan of austerity policies, for his country or for Europe. On that point, Obama could even support Hollande in his dealings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And while the Washington Post insists on the “warning” that Sarkozy’s ousting represents for Obama, the New York Times describes Hollande as the one who is the most in line with American economic positions.

Two Messages

During the French presidential campaign, Obama didn’t wish to meet Hollande and even showed his support for Sarkozy. He was nonetheless one of the first to congratulate the new French president on Sunday. He was also keen on publicly thanking Sarkozy for his “leadership” and “friendship,” to put some weight on Hollande’s shoulders.