The American elections viewed from abroad
The U.S elections are followed from every corner of the world. From Colombia to Iran and Gibraltar, our Observers wonder who would make the best ‘president of the world'.
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The U.S elections are followed from every corner of the world. From Colombia to Iran and Gibraltar, our Observers wonder who would make the best ‘president of the world'.
‘A democratic movement could go forward in Iran with the election of a democrat’
Comment from Iranian blogger, Farhad Afshar. ... the whispers of a Democratic candidate winning the US presidential election could soften the dark and frozen atmosphere in Iran. Iran's current president - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - was elected two years ago to face the foreign threat of having Iran considered a part of the ‘axis of evil'. Two years ago, Iran could have been attacked at any moment, and a person was chosen to counter the foreign pressure. If the foreign threat diminishes, a slow democratic movement could go forward. Obama's ideas on foreign affairs and Iran make reformists happy... maybe some do not know but peace and dialogue is like poison for a group whose political existence relies on violence and war."‘Bad news for dockworkers, good news for mothers of teenagers’ in Gibraltar
From our Observer in Gibraltar Jonathan Teuma.
Like every other part of the world, the tiny pebble located on the Southern tip of Iberia feels the tremors of change in the United States. Obama would definitely represent a more liberal approach to world affairs. Gibraltar often plays host the many US Navy ships making their way to and from conflict zones in the middle-east and elsewhere in the world. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush years have seen a fair increase in these ships stopping by. A Barack Obama Government, with his apparent will to converse with ‘controversial' world leaders should ease tensions, reduce the number of ‘open' conflicts and thus bring down the number of Navy Ships, and consequently drunken sailors, that we have to deal with. Bad news for workers at the Dockyard (less overtime pay), but good news for mothers of teenagers."
'The election of a democrat could delay the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia'
Sebastian Longhurst is our Observer for Colombia.The main issue is the Free Trade Agreement between both countries, which was signed just over a year ago. It has not been ratified yet because of the strong democrat opposition in the US, who say that President Uribe has not done enough for human rights and has too many right-wing allies. A democrat victory in the 2008 elections would most likely further complicate the ratification of the FTA which, if passed, would give a huge boost to the Colombian economy and improve standards in the legal system."
‘Barrack Obama is both the best, the most challenging and the most dangerous candidate for the EU’
Nanne Zwagerman is a dutch blogger living in Germany. See his blog.Barrack Obama, who now seems the favourite to win the elections, is both the best, the most challenging and the most dangerous candidate for the EU. [...] The people of the United States of America should not expect the transatlantic alliance to immediately get back to the level it was at before Bush. We have differences, and Bush broke a lot of things down."