ASSOCIATED PRESS: PARIS — An Obama effect is rippling across Europe.
In France, a pro-Barack Obama grassroots group created months ago is morphing into a campaign for political diversity. In Britain, a black voter group says it is inundated with calls and attendance is soaring.
In Austria, a Rwandan-born activist has fired off letters to big parties urging them to field minority candidates. And in Germany, the staff of Turkish politician Cem Ozdemir started a Facebook group called "Yes we Cem" — a takeoff on Obama's slogan "Yes we can."
Obama's victory is inspiring hopes and even planting the seeds of action for changing the overwhelming whiteness of Europe's political elite. But it's unclear whether these efforts will pay off or merely fizzle. Although polls showed majorities in nearly every European country favored Obama over John McCain, many say Europe is far from voting for a leader from an ethnic minority itself.
Of course, the victory of the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas has brought hope to many parts of the developing world. But in places like Britain and France, which have long prided themselves on their democracies, it has also emphasized how far their governments are from reflecting racial diversity today.
Europe and the relatively young United States have vastly different histories when it comes to race. >>> By Jamey Keaten | November 12, 2008
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