PHOTOGRAPHER: 'EH … I DON’T SEE THE REST OF THE 20?
OBAMA: 'WHAT 20?
[Courrier International, France]
Liberation, France
Obama’s Paradox: Love Him; Hate American Capitalism
"It's
the paradox of Obama. Not since Kennedy has an American president been so
popular in Europe. Never has the model of the country held most responsible for
a global economic crisis, a country over which he presides over and embodies,
been so decried."
By François Sergent
Translated By L. McKenzie Zeiss
April 1, 2009
France - Liberation - Original Article
(French)
It's the paradox of Obama.
Not since Kennedy has an American president been so popular in Europe. Never
has the model of the country held most responsible for a global economic
crisis, a country over which he presides over and embodies, been so decried.
Yet during the electoral campaign and since his installation in the White
House, Obama has shown his difference. More than his European counterparts, he
has made the crisis the absolute priority of his presidency. In magnitude and
ambition, his stimulus plan eclipses the limited and disorganized measures
taken individually by European leaders.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
He was the first Western
leader to seek to regulate the obscene compensation packages of business
leaders. He didn't hesitate to sack the boss of General Motors, while [Michael]
Burton, the head of Société
Générale, counts his cash. But the fact remains that on the major question
of regulating the capitalist system, he has until now shown caution and
pusillanimity. He has not embodied the rupture with the Bush years demanded by
the collapse of a system based on laissez-faire and greed.
Despite everything that's
happened, Obama says he wants to "lead the world." In London, the
"world" waits with curiosity and sympathy, but not with complacency.
Whatever his domestic political motivations may be, Sarkozy is right to demand
another ambition for the G20 summit. We'll have to wait and see if the
"all or nothing" posture of the French president, which presupposes a
disconnection between the European and American systems, is the most effective.
We're all in the same boat, if not in the same shipwreck. Give Obama a chance.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
Europeans and Obama: As Though 'Friendship Were a One-Way Street'
Le Figaro, France:
Obama's 'Pharaonic' Plans for His First Voyage to Europe
The Times, U.K.:
Blaming 'Anglo-Saxons,' Sarkozy
Threatens to Walk Out of G-20
Corriere della Sera, Italy:
'Lost Smiles' as Obama Prepares for Europe
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
China and U.S.: Europe Should Fear G2, Not G20
Le Figaro, France:
Obama and Sarkozy: Clashing Views That Need Not Be Fatal
Elsevier, The Netherlands:
No More 'Care Packages' for Obama
Guardian Unlimited, U.K.:
Britain Clears Decks for 'Barack Obama Show'
The Times, U.K.:
G20 Summit: European Demands Threaten to Wreck Deal
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hosts all G-20 delegates
for dinner at Downing Street, April 1. WATCH 
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US April 2, 11:59am]
