Obamamania
Poles are obsessed with the new president elect. Here's what they want him to do.
By Michal Kobosko
Special Guest Columnist
The winner takes it all. I have loved ABBA's "Mamma Mia" musical since I first saw it in New York's Winter Garden theater a few years ago. And those were the lyrics sounding in my head when it became clear that Barack Obama won the White House race. Wow, a night to remember! Certainly, it was a long night, waiting for the results in Warsaw as well. I spent it jumping from one TV station to another, where I was commenting on the elections, and then a longer while at the Warsaw Intercontinental Hotel, where the U.S. Embassy had its election-night party. It was hugely crowded, with a few hundred excited Americans and Poles: discussing, drinking—even dancing. The clear majority there wore Obama-Biden badges ...
Indeed, the Polish media has been obsessed with the U.S. election. In recent days, news about the vote has been splashed over cover pages, television and radio, to the point where it seemed that Poland had become a 51st state. No local news, no Polish politics, Russian or European Union issues—just the U.S.A, Obama, McCain and the implications of the U.S. election for Europe and Poland, but mainly Obama.
This reflects the fact that Poles were among the top Obamamaniacs in Europe. The most recent polls showed an astonishing 65 percent support for Obama with just 20 percent support for McCain. That makes a significant shift in Polish perception of U.S. politics: traditionally Poles both in Poland and those populating Chicago and New York have been loyal supporters of the GOP. So "change" has already come to Poland.
We do have our own expectations of President Obama. Firstly, that he end the visa requirement for visiting Polish citizens. Congress has lifted this requirement for other former communist countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Lithuania, leaving Poland the only country in the region still facing this obligation. Dear Congress, make real change and lift the visa burden for Poles. We fully deserve it.
The second point is the antimissile shield project. Poland and the Czech Republic have both signed preliminary agreements to allow parts of the shield to be located on its territories. We see this project not only as a military tool against bad guys, but also as a project leveraging Polish-American good relations to a new 21st-century level. Now we need a clear answer, if the Obama administration would go on with this project, to when, how and on what terms. Whatever happens, Poles are excited about the coming new order in Washington. God bless the U.S.—and us!
—Michal Kobosko is the editor of NEWSWEEK Polska, NEWSWEEK's Polish-language partner published through a licensing agreement with Axel Springer Polska
Tokyo Report
In Japan, Obama's victory is celebrated with T shirts, slogans—and just a few lingering questions.
By Takashi Yokota
Special Guest Commentary
Barack Obama's "change" mantra has already become part of the Japanese lexicon. A popular television drama series was called simply "Change." A mobile phone carrier used the word as its slogan and even high-level politicians have started adopting the term. The president elect's victory is resonating with many Japanese, who see it as a historic facelift for Washington. And it brought particular joy to a port city named Obama in western Japan, where hundreds partied today with "I Love Obama" T shirts.
But on the political level, we have yet to see a clear vision of his Asia policy, which obviously is overshadowed by Afghanistan and Iran. Other than the certainty that Obama will do away with the Bush years by bringing in a fresh administration, many foreign-policy questions linger here in Tokyo. Along with maintaining its alliance with Japan, how will Obama deal with China? Can he craft a sensible and robust North Korea policy? And in the short-term, will the president-elect ask Japan to step-up its assistance in Afghanistan?
Obama says he will renew American diplomacy by maintaining strong alliances and emphasizing multilateral dialogue. The rhetoric is encouraging, but the question is, what will it bring in the way of substance and quality? As we saw in President George Bush's diplomacy in dealing with North Korea's nukes, a willingness to talk with adversaries is not enough. For all of Bush's pursuit of engagement and diplomacy in his second term, he ended up signing-off on a weak-kneed nuclear "disablement" and verification deal that is widely criticized by moderates and hawks from both sides of the Pacific. This is not to discredit diplomacy and engagement—the problem was that the diplomacy practiced by Bush was done in haste, with little knowledge of North Korea's negotiating behavior and the history involved. After all, the last thing allies like Japan and South Korea want is for an issue to be treated like an afterthought.
Takashi Yokota is an associate editor at NEWSWEEK Nihon Ban , a Japanese-language edition that is published in collaboration with Hankyu Corporation of Osaka.
Message for Moscow
Obama's election could send an ironic—and unexpected—signal to Russians about their own leaders.
By Mikhail Fishman
Unlike the rest of the world, the Russian media did not give extensive daily coverage to the race for the White House, and Russians didn't really care much about the election of the next U.S. president. For those who did take an interest, though, it may be the George Bush legacy rather than the Obama victory that continues to resonate in both our political and social lives here.
Much has been said about how it's now time to leave the Bush years behind. Ironically, though, they could linger in Russia, where Vladimir Putin happily used Washington's arguments and methods to expand his personal control over Russian political institutions.
Throughout the Bush administration, the Kremlin studiously followed the White House road map on how to make excuses for controversial actions and policies. 'Look at these guys in Washington,' was the constant message, 'they are doing the same thing down there we're doing here and still call it democracy!'
One example: the Beslan hostage crisis and the war on terror. After the 2004 massacre that left hundreds dead at the Beslan school, Putin adopted much of Bush's post 9/11 rhetoric.
More recently, government statements after the August incursion into Georgia used the Kosovo example as a pretext for announcing the independence of Abkhazia and Ossetia. Putin also likes to claim that U.S. coverage of the Georgian conflict was one-sided and that there's no freedom of the press in America.
It's symbolic, though, that on the same day America elected a new president who is expected to completely overhaul Bush-administration policies, the new Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, announced in his national address that the president's term in Russia should be extended to 6 years. For Russia's elite, that was a clear message: Vladimir Putin might be coming back to the presidency.
Perhaps the real message from Obama's election is to show Russians that the Kremlin is actually wrong: Washington's and Moscow's political orders are different. The U.S. vote demonstrates that it's not that easy to corrupt an established political system that comes with real checks and balances—and that voters can move forward beyond the boundaries which looked so solid, so unbreakable. It's not going to be an easy path to walk through and it may be a long while before America is again perceived as a role model of democracy and freedom for the rest of the world. But even for those who weren't watching too closely here, it's an important first step.
—Mikhail Fishman is the editor of NEWSWEEK Russia, a Russian-language edition published in collaboration with Moscow-based Axel Springer Russia.
Hopes, Dreams and Pessimism
Obama's victory offers a special opportunity for Turkey, says a Turkish editor.
By Selcuk Tepeli
Special Guest Commentary
Turkey is not a country where dreams have much value. A national survey released on Nov. 4—the day of the U.S. election—found that more than 55 percent of Turks expected next year to be worse than this one. (What pessimism!) Certainly, there are many issues here that keep dreams at a distance: the ongoing Kurdish issue, the struggle against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the uncertainty in Iraq, Armenian genocide claims, the current disillusionment with the efforts to join the European Union (EU), domestic political problems and state authoritarianism.
Still, for analysts here—especially those educated in the U.S. or Europe—Barack Obama's election win is seen as a sign that dreams can come true. And while the interest among ordinary Turks about the U.S. election campaign cannot be described as overwhelming, its conclusion is now triggering talk about whether Obama can help to solve some of Turkey's problems. After the disappointment of the Bush years, most people are being cautious. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his first statement on the election, was guardedly optimistic that the incoming administration would be good for world democracy and peace in the Middle East.
Turks, meanwhile, hope that their country's strategic importance could prompt Obama to change his mind about his promise to recognize Armenian claims of Ottoman genocide in 1915. They also hope for his support in the ongoing dispute over Cyprus and for American military and diplomatic support against the PKK.
Obama won the election with the slogan of change. Turkey's people have also changed: the country is a candidate for the EU, it is slowly becoming richer and freer, and Ankara is trying to establish relations with Armenia. If Obama manages to keep his promises of change, Turks—where aversion to the U.S. is high—may start to take more interest in his agenda. If that happens, the Washington example may encourage Turks to be even more open to change. "The democratic culture in the United States should be a role model for Turkey," says a statement released by the Turkish Association of Industrialists and Businessmen today. It's an opportunity not to be missed.
—Selcuk Tepeli is the editor in chief of NEWSWEEK Turkiye, a Turkish-language edition that launched in October 2008. It is published in collaboration with the Ciner Media Group.
Election Shmelection
Never mind the Obama victory. What Argentines were really talking about.
By Alex Milberg
Special Guest Commentary
On U.S. Election Day, Argentina was paralyzed by a worrying issue. People here wondered if the person elected would be able to overcome the crisis, restore the foreign image and regain faith. But, instead of Obama, Argentines were thinking of the legendary Diego Maradona, 48, who took over as coach of the national soccer team, almost at the same time as John Mc Cain voted in Phoenix.
What's more important: a world recession and the agenda of the new leader of the world's most powerful country or the fact that the national soccer team teeters because it won only one out of the last six qualifier matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? The answer, in this latitude, is evident. The former soccer star and drug addict, now more than 40 pounds lighter and three resurrections later, unquestionably overshadowed the election for the first black president of the United States.
The U.S. campaign was followed here without much euphoria: despite national egomania, Argentines seem to understand that neither the country, nor the region, will be amongst the top 100,000 White House priorities. In fact, in an online survey of 13,840 people about which candidate they thought would be best for Argentina, 30.5 percent answered they were "indifferent" to it, 62.5 percent voted for Obama and only 7 percent chose McCain. Finding a Republican in Buenos Aires was virtually impossible; even Maradona, who has "Che" tattooed on his arm, admitted he preferred the Democrat.
Without the joyful pertness of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez ("I hope the black man wins"), Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner admitted she "admired" Obama, though she had supported Hillary Clinton. Cristina succeed her husband, Néstor, as president at the end of last year, and they always thought of themselves as the Clintons of underdevelopment.
Still, Obama's victory might somewhat help improve the relationship between both governments, which is now tense not only for the old rows with the International Monetary Fund but for a new scandal that was also news this week: a jury convicted a Venezuelan businessman involved in a ring suspected of smuggling illegal money into Argentina for Fernández's presidential campaign.
Should Argentines have cared more? It's said, and it's true, that Argentines can be talented individually but have a fierce incapacity to grow as a group. The day the "Yes, we can" mantra becomes an Argentine conviction, our history might start to change.
—Alex Milberg is the editor of NEWSWEEK Argentina, a Spanish-language edition headquartered in Buenos Aires.