Kolumni Helsinki Timesissa: Either way, Europe is better 12.9.2008
We Europeans follow the US Presidential elections very actively and enthusiastically. And so does the whole world. In February, I visited Bangladesh and the main news was the US primaries. It was a striking contrast to the situation in Bangladesh where the two main party leaders were in jail. The Bangladesh people knew all about the primaries in America but they did not know when Bangladesh could arrange its own parliamentary elections.
In Europe, we know the two main candidates and their vice-presidential running mates much better than many EU commissioners. And in Europe we can only imagine that people could elect the commissioners. Now the nomination of these top positions happens behind closed doors. That is the European Union democracy. This is a striking contradiction to the democracy of the US.
The main interest is now focused on Sarah Palin, the running mate of McCain. This choice has been both criticized and praised. Critics say she does not have enough experience; she just recently obtained a passport. Human interest stories have focused around her decision to give birth to a Down syndrome baby and her unwed teenaged daughter’s pregnancy. But the Republican base has been energized by the addition of Palin to the ticket because of her conservative values.
While this is all very interesting, I think the focus should be on foreign policy. The Presidential elections in the United States have a great impact on Europe. It is important to understand where the candidates stand on US relations with Europe and the European Union in particular.
Barack Obama has a plan entitled “A Stronger Partnership with Europe for a Safer America.” He has denounced the way President Bush has isolated European countries who do not support all of American foreign policy.
According to his plan, “As president, Obama will continue to support Europe’s strategy of enlargement, which has been history’s most successful democratization strategy and has brought peace, stability and prosperity to millions. He will maintain an open economic relationship with the European Union, thus preserving the largest trade and investment partnership in the world and creating millions of American jobs and export opportunities.”
Other goals stated in his plan include restoring a partnership with Turkey, ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran, disarming the former Soviet Union, seeking a political settlement in Cyprus, and working for peace in Northern Ireland.
Senator John McCain has spoken out in favor of a free trade deal with the European Union, building on the North American Free Trade Agreement. In March of 2008, McCain wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times newspaper on the US and Europe. In it he talks about renewing “democratic solidarity” and hopes that he can “harness the great power of the more than 100 democratic nations around the world to advance our values and defend our shared interests.” He also writes about how the US and Europe should come together on the issue of climate change and hopefully engage China and India to do the same.
The rivalry between the candidates is very strong. McCain has recently released a television ad which says that Obama is “dangerously unprepared” to be President because of his lack of foreign policy knowledge. Obama has called McCain’s foreign policy ‘naive’ and links him to the failed policies of President George W Bush.
But what we all must realize is that both candidates recognize that American foreign policy must change. They both want to move away from the unilateralism of the Bush administration towards a more multilateral approach. I believe that this change will be good for both the United States and Europe.
Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Member of European Parliament
