What the foreign press is saying about Obama’s victory

As news of Barack Obama’s victory spread across the globe, the foreign press questioned how the incoming Obama administration will influence politics in their parts of the world. Foreign analysts reacted with emotions ranging from elation to cautious hope, but a few also revealed frustation with how the election campaign was run, and a sense of realism about the daunting task facing President-elect Obama. Above, a celebratory sand sculpture on a beach in Puri, India. Below, a brief roundup of some of the most interesting commentary and headlines from around the world.

Kenya

AllAfrica.com:

Kenya is ecstatic at the news of Barack Obama’s historic election as president of the United States. Upon hearing news of their beloved “son’s” win Wednesday morning (East African time), residents of Kogelo village burst into song and cheers of joy. […]

American flags, stars-and-stripes-themed clothing and slogans praising America are highly visible today. One very small, sleepy restaurant in Siaya town, the nearest town to Kogelo, was playing CNN International to a small but rapturous audience, one of whom was wearing an American flag hat.”

The Daily Nation:

[Kenyan] President Kibaki: ‘This is a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success.'”

Israel

The Jerusalem Post:

Regarding concern in Israel about an Obama presidency, [longtime Obama friend and former Congressman Abner] Mikva said that ‘Barack will be the first Jewish president in the US.’

‘He has a yiddeshe nishama,’ [a ‘Jewish soul’] Mikva said. ‘He is committed to Israel and its security concerns and understands that democratization does not happen by force but by example, and there is no better example in the Middle East than Israel.’

Haaretz:

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel hoped the president-elect would maintain the U.S. friendship with Israel and commitment to peace talks. ‘Israel expects the close strategic cooperation with the new administration, president and Congress will continue along with the continued strengthening of the special and unshakeable special relationship between the two countries.'”

Lebanon

The Daily Star:

The deeper hurtful reality this election campaign has revealed is that Arabs and Muslims are the new Jews and blacks in the US, because they are treated today in the same way that Jews and blacks (then called negroes) were treated in the early-mid-20th century…The new president will inherit this world where racism against Arabs-Muslims is the last permissible form of wholesale slander and denigration.”

al-Akhbar:

The black Kennedy to the White House.

Canada

The Globe and Mail:

[T]oday, Ottawa will make its own transition from George W. Bush’s security agenda to Barack Obama’s economic agenda. The changing times mean Canada must focus on finding shelter from a wave of protectionism expected in Congress, persuading Washington‘s new power brokers that U.S. and Canadian jobs are linked, and possibly, selling Canada as a path to reducing U.S. dependency on Middle East and Venezuelan oil, analysts say.”

Germany

Spiegel Online:

Obama is America’s offer of reconciliation after all those years of premeditated political provocation, of military action not backed by international law, of America’s claim to be entitled to military pre-emptive strikes. The Bush doctrine was scrapped last night. The unilateralist stance of the Western superpower is likely to be over for now.”

Britain

The Times of London:

Yesterday’s results were head-spinning stuff… The country regarded loftily by many Europeans as hopelessly racist and irredeemably right wing has voted to be ruled by a black man, at the head of a party committed to economic redistribution and a foreign policy rooted in peaceful diplomatic engagement.”

The Telegraph:

José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, expressed hopes that the incoming Democrat President Elect will reverse the policy of George W Bush by uniting with the EU to fight global warming. ‘This is a turning point for the United States. It may also be a turning point for the world,’ he said.”

France

Le Figaro:

The World Waits For Obama’s ‘Change’: The victory of Barack Obama arouses hope and attention in the four corners of the globe, even in countries usually hostile to Washington“

Le Monde:

Barack Obama’s victory brings a new American dream”

Australia

The Australian:

Obama’s New Dawn: President-elect to reshape America”

Venezuela

Ultimas Noticias:

A Black in the White House”

Photo: SANJIB MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images