SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Germans were ecstatic when Barack Obama took over the keys to the White House from George W. Bush. Now, though, a new Pew Research Center survey shows that disillusionment with the US president is widespread in Germany and that Obama has not lived up to the high expectations Europeans had of him.
In July 2008, in a speech at the base of the Victory Column in Berlin's Tiergarten park, before tens of thousands of deliriously adoring onlookers, then US presidential candidate Barack Obama promised a renewal of America's stature in the world. After his election that November, Germans, other Europeans and many people around the world embraced Obama in large part because he was not George W. Bush. Reversing a half-decade of profound anti-Americanism, support for the new US president and America soared to what has now proven to be unsustainable levels, especially in Germany. Obama's honeymoon with the German people is not over. But now, as he seeks re-election, the first indications of friction in the relationship are emerging.
In a new global survey released on Wednesday, approval of President Barack Obama's policies has declined significantly since he first took office. Overall confidence in Obama and attitudes toward the US have slipped modestly as a consequence. By several measures some of the greatest slippage has occurred in Germany, especially with regard to America's image and Obama's foreign policies. After more than three years in office, Germans are disappointed in the US president's unilateralism; his use of force, particularly drone strikes; his inaction with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian situation and his lack of effort in curbing climate change. » | An Analysis by Bruce Stokes | Wednesday, June 13, 2012
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Obama frustriert die Deutschen: Weltweit wächst die Enttäuschung über US-Präsident Barack Obama und damit über Amerika - das zeigt die Studie einer renommierten US-Denkfabrik. Bei den Deutschen sorgen vor allem Obamas Drohnenkrieg und sein Versagen beim Klimaschutz für Frust. » | Von Gregor Peter Schmitz, Washington | Mittwoch, 03. Juni 2012
