02-10-2008, 07:16 AM
HOPING FOR CHANGE
Germans Weigh in on US Election
By Patrick McGroarty in Berlin
As Americans vote in primaries in 24 US states this Super Tuesday, Germany will be watching. In Berlin, residents say they are looking for an American president who can lead the country away from the divisive policies of George W. Bush.
A float in the Rose Monday carnival parade in Cologne made light of the close race between Democratic US Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama leading into Tuesday's primary contests.
Zoom
AP
A float in the Rose Monday carnival parade in Cologne made light of the close race between Democratic US Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama leading into Tuesday's primary contests.
With polls opening at primaries in 24 US states on this Super Tuesday, America's 303 million citizens will not be alone as they monitor contests that could well determine the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees.
Germans, Europeans and the world are also keeping close tabs on this year's American presidential race. After all, no less is at stake than the election of the "leader of the free world," as American media have often called the presidency since the Cold War -- even if that moral supremacy has been bruised in recent years.
SPIEGEL ONLINE surveyed Germans on the streets of Berlin in the run-up to Super Tuesday to find out their views on the presidential primary. While they had varying opinions on which candidate is best-suited to lead the United States, most favored Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- and all agreed that this year's election is particularly crucial because it represents a chance for major political change in America and the world.
"I think it would be fantastic if a black man won, and I think it would be fantastic if a woman won," said Marlene Gruppe, interviewed at Berlin's central train station. "Either would be a breath of fresh air for America." Gruppe said she favors Clinton, and she is not alone.
"I would like to see Hillary Clinton win," said Charlie Holst, of Lübeck, speaking at Pariser Platz, near the Brandenburg Gate. "I think she is likely to carry forward the policies of her husband, and his policies were in many cases favorable to Germany."
Hillary Leads in Poll of Germans
If public opinion polls are anything to go by, then that view is also shared by most Germans. A December poll for the French news channel France 24 and the International Herald Tribune newspaper found that 44 percent of Germans said they would vote for Clinton if they were allowed -- far greater support than the 22 percent she had in a nationwide survey in the US at the time. Obama came in a distant second, with 11 percent. On the Republican side, the only candidate who obtained any support in Germany was Rudy Giuliani, who had even less backing here (1 percent) than in Florida, where a disappointing third place primary finish ended his presidential bid.
Germans have a long tradition of following US elections closely, and most major newspapers and TV news channels here have a handful of reporters on the campaign trail. The obsession with US politics is a tradition rooted in a long and close relationship between Germany and the United States that extends back to the aftermath of World War II, when Washington helped rebuild West Germany with the Marshall Plan. The Berlin Air Lift brought critical supplies to a city cut off from the West by Soviet troops, and American soldiers stationed in the city helped to insure Moscow didn't invade during the Cold War.
But decades of warm friendship between America and Germany -- first West Germany and later a reunited Germany -- temporarily soured early this century when German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was re-elected in 2002 on a campaign driven by his disapproval of US President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq (more...) and his refusal to pledge Bundeswehr troops for the "adventure" in Iraq.
"We as Germans do not understand why Bush led the world into a war in Iraq," said Helga Nähreng of Berlin, who was interviewed on Potsdamer Platz. Her husband, Rheinhard Nähreng, agreed. "What Bush has done is a mistake," he said.
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The Nährengs said Obama was their candidate of choice. "I think it would be particularly good for black America," said Reinhard.
"He also comes from a younger generation than the Clintons and has taken a very centrist path -- not to the left, not to the right. I think he can find a new path. It is unimportant whether the next US leader is a woman, like we have here in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel, or a man. What we need is a path out of the crisis situation that we have now."
Since taking office as chancellor in 2005, Merkel has made efforts to mend German-US relations (more...), but the German people remain highly critical of the war in Iraq, Bush and his leadership of the United States.
Ruth Schumbecher, a Berliner who was walking along the Spree River near the German parliament building, the Reichstag, last Friday, said that she believed only a Democrat could help America rebound from the policies of Bush's "oppressive" administration.
"It's very important that the next president turn away from the policies of President Bush and find a new way," she said. "That's the big hope. I'm a big America fan, but I'm also a fan hoping for change."
Germans Weigh in on US Election
By Patrick McGroarty in Berlin
As Americans vote in primaries in 24 US states this Super Tuesday, Germany will be watching. In Berlin, residents say they are looking for an American president who can lead the country away from the divisive policies of George W. Bush.
A float in the Rose Monday carnival parade in Cologne made light of the close race between Democratic US Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama leading into Tuesday's primary contests.
Zoom
AP
A float in the Rose Monday carnival parade in Cologne made light of the close race between Democratic US Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama leading into Tuesday's primary contests.
With polls opening at primaries in 24 US states on this Super Tuesday, America's 303 million citizens will not be alone as they monitor contests that could well determine the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees.
Germans, Europeans and the world are also keeping close tabs on this year's American presidential race. After all, no less is at stake than the election of the "leader of the free world," as American media have often called the presidency since the Cold War -- even if that moral supremacy has been bruised in recent years.
SPIEGEL ONLINE surveyed Germans on the streets of Berlin in the run-up to Super Tuesday to find out their views on the presidential primary. While they had varying opinions on which candidate is best-suited to lead the United States, most favored Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- and all agreed that this year's election is particularly crucial because it represents a chance for major political change in America and the world.
"I think it would be fantastic if a black man won, and I think it would be fantastic if a woman won," said Marlene Gruppe, interviewed at Berlin's central train station. "Either would be a breath of fresh air for America." Gruppe said she favors Clinton, and she is not alone.
"I would like to see Hillary Clinton win," said Charlie Holst, of Lübeck, speaking at Pariser Platz, near the Brandenburg Gate. "I think she is likely to carry forward the policies of her husband, and his policies were in many cases favorable to Germany."
Hillary Leads in Poll of Germans
If public opinion polls are anything to go by, then that view is also shared by most Germans. A December poll for the French news channel France 24 and the International Herald Tribune newspaper found that 44 percent of Germans said they would vote for Clinton if they were allowed -- far greater support than the 22 percent she had in a nationwide survey in the US at the time. Obama came in a distant second, with 11 percent. On the Republican side, the only candidate who obtained any support in Germany was Rudy Giuliani, who had even less backing here (1 percent) than in Florida, where a disappointing third place primary finish ended his presidential bid.
Germans have a long tradition of following US elections closely, and most major newspapers and TV news channels here have a handful of reporters on the campaign trail. The obsession with US politics is a tradition rooted in a long and close relationship between Germany and the United States that extends back to the aftermath of World War II, when Washington helped rebuild West Germany with the Marshall Plan. The Berlin Air Lift brought critical supplies to a city cut off from the West by Soviet troops, and American soldiers stationed in the city helped to insure Moscow didn't invade during the Cold War.
But decades of warm friendship between America and Germany -- first West Germany and later a reunited Germany -- temporarily soured early this century when German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was re-elected in 2002 on a campaign driven by his disapproval of US President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq (more...) and his refusal to pledge Bundeswehr troops for the "adventure" in Iraq.
"We as Germans do not understand why Bush led the world into a war in Iraq," said Helga Nähreng of Berlin, who was interviewed on Potsdamer Platz. Her husband, Rheinhard Nähreng, agreed. "What Bush has done is a mistake," he said.
NEWSLETTER
Sign up for Spiegel Online's daily newsletter and get the best of Der Spiegel's and Spiegel Online's international coverage in your In- Box everyday.
The Nährengs said Obama was their candidate of choice. "I think it would be particularly good for black America," said Reinhard.
"He also comes from a younger generation than the Clintons and has taken a very centrist path -- not to the left, not to the right. I think he can find a new path. It is unimportant whether the next US leader is a woman, like we have here in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel, or a man. What we need is a path out of the crisis situation that we have now."
Since taking office as chancellor in 2005, Merkel has made efforts to mend German-US relations (more...), but the German people remain highly critical of the war in Iraq, Bush and his leadership of the United States.
Ruth Schumbecher, a Berliner who was walking along the Spree River near the German parliament building, the Reichstag, last Friday, said that she believed only a Democrat could help America rebound from the policies of Bush's "oppressive" administration.
"It's very important that the next president turn away from the policies of President Bush and find a new way," she said. "That's the big hope. I'm a big America fan, but I'm also a fan hoping for change."