Obama seen as best to deal with global woes

Both Americans and Europeans agree that Barack Obama is better suited than his rival John McCain to addressing global issues such as the financial crisis and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new study shows ahead of US presidential elections on 4 November.

At least two-thirds of Germans, Italians, Spanish and French want to see the Democratic candidate elected, with support in France as high as 78%, according to a poll by Harris Interactive published last Friday (24 October). In the UK, which has strong ties to America through a “special relationship”, Obama fever is lower, but he is nevertheless still preferred by a 4:1 ratio (48% to 11%). 

Asked to give their main reasons for supporting Obama, an overwhelming majority of Europeans and Americans cited his capacity to represent a change from the policies of the current Bush administration. 

Among the McCain camp, only a few explained their support in terms of ability to bring about change, with figures in the US as low as 3%. The view that change is needed in the White House is mirrored in statements by European politicians. In a plenary debate last week, Socialist MEPs branded George W. Bush the “worst president” in US history, while party leader Martin Schulz blamed Bush for the current global financial crisis. 

Obama is seen as the better candidate, both by Americans and Europeans, to deal with the financial crisis and its impact on the economy, which both sides cite as the most urgent issues the new US president should address, ahead of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Americans are far more concerned about their own economy (85%), while Europeans instead worry about the global situation. 

In an earlier poll conducted by TNS Opinion, Europeans had also considered Obama as the only candidate capable of improving strained EU-US ties (EURACTIV 10/09/08). 

Transatlantic views diverge when it comes to climate change. While more than 40% of Europeans consider it a key priority, not even a fifth (18%) of the Americans cite it as a main issue, according to the poll conducted online from 1-13 October among 6,276 persons aged 16 to 64. 

The chances of an Obama presidency haven risen sharply in recent weeks, with polls showing the Democrat enjoying a 6-12% lead and even indicating the possibility of a landslide victory on 4 November. Previously the race had been tight. 

Recent polls show that Democrats are likely to regain the Senate and even secure a two-thirds majority, while strengthening their grip on the House of Representatives. A two-thirds majority would deprive the opposition of the chance to block the president’s proposals. 

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