How the world is reacting to Obama's reelection

From China to Iran, President Obama's reelection elicited everything from celebration to doubt about his second-term agenda. Here are 11 responses:

1. China

President Obama?s reelection was welcomed by China, where some commentators mused on the political freedoms of the US. The Monitor's Beijing Correspondent Peter Ford reported:

"The US elections attracted widespread attention in China: The topic was the top trending search term on Twitter-like platforms such as Tencent Weibo and Sina Weibo, which saw 3.4 million tweets on the subject on election day.

Microblog commentators had some comparisons to make between the freewheeling US presidential election that unfolded just as Chinese leaders were preparing to open the 18th Communist Party Congress on Thursday, the culmination of a secretive leadership transition in which the Chinese public plays no part.

'Americans across the nation are voting,' tweeted Wu Shuilan. 'But what about us? We all know the result before the voting starts; we are faster than them.' "

Meanwhile, China's official Xinhua news agency, the mouthpiece for the Communist Party, ran an editorial urging US-China cooperation after making a dig at how US politicians speak about China:

China-U.S. relations are responsive to complications stemming from domestic political issues. Judging from how U.S. presidential candidates spoke about China in the lead up to Election Day and, in fact, how other politicians have spoken about China in a number of other campaigns, it appears that China has become an easy target and a scapegoat for those looking to avoid taking responsibility for domestic issues in the U.S.

... China has many urgent domestic problems that need tended to, such as improving people's livelihood and carrying out reforms in many sectors. It can not bear the costs of full confrontation with the outside world.

The U.S. needs China, as well, not just in terms of economic development but also in other sectors. The global financial crisis revealed how globalization has made countries so interdependent that no single country can survive in a bubble.

China and the U.S. have to work together for the sake of future world stability.

2. South Korea

The view from South Korea, which will hold its own presidential elections in December, is that a second Obama term won't sharply diverged from his first, reports Peter Ford from Beijing (Read his Monitor piece: Obama win Asia sees key prize.)

?We don?t expect any changes in Obama?s foreign policy toward North Korea or Northeast Asia,? says Kim Dae-joong, a conservative columnist with the Chosun Ilbo, a Korean daily newspaper.

Not that Mr. Kim is especially happy with that, since neither the US, nor any of the regional powers involved in six-party talks to dismantle North Korea?s nuclear weapons program, has had any tangible success so far.

Obama?s second term ?will just be a continuation of his first-term policy? toward the Korean peninsula, says Kim. ?And I don?t think he has any greater chances of success than he did in his first term.?

Still, South Korea's popular English language news service Yonhap reported that Obama's reelection will likely have a positive impact on the Korean economy because it would help ease uncertainty over the future of US policy:

The results of the election have been closely watched as any change in policy direction in the U.S. could have a significant ripple effect on other countries, especially at a time when the world is faced with eurozone debt problems and worries over a global slowdown."In times of crisis, it is most meaningful in that uncertainty over policy change has eased," said Choi Sang-mok, the head of the finance ministry's economic policy bureau.

3. Japan

In Japan, which is currently locked in a territorial dispute with China over a group of small uninhabited islands, ?a lot of people will feel relieved,? Hiroshi Meguro, who teaches international relations at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies told Ford.

?He is more moderate, and people expect policy continuity to be maintained, which is especially important now that Japan has problems with China,? Meguro explained.

There are at least two towns in Japan named "Obama," which means "little beach? in Japanese, who are cheering today, reports Japan Today.

For the people of both Obama towns, the president?s re-election seemed to mean more of a chance to capitalize on their shared name. ?Four more years,? city hall official Hirokazu Yomo told Japan Today. ?So we are happy this will continue and help with building our city.?

Financial analysts worry what an Obama win could mean for Japan's economy, reports Channel News Asia:

Some analysts are concerned that Mr Obama's victory, combined with the failure of Greece to win a bailout, could pressure the Japanese yen to strengthen again.

"Obama's re-election means the dollar is not necessarily going to be strengthened from here to next year. That will be negative headwind to Japanese exporters, manufacturing industries and the economy in general," said Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist of Credit Suisse Securities Japan.

The weak US dollar keeps the yen high, which hurt Japanese exports.

4. Indonesia

Obama's victory was also cheered in Indonesia, where he spent four years as a boy. The Monitor's Correspondent Sara Schonhardt reports that Indonesians have had a good few years, which may also be attributing to warm feelings:

Indonesians pleased with their country's consistent economic growth of more than 6 percent, rising wages, and rapidly expanding middle class said they hoped Obama would boost the global economy and further improve relations between the two countries with another term in office.

?I believe there will be a greater attention toward Asia, including Indonesia, for the benefit of the American economy,? says Aleksius Jemadu, the dean of International Relations at Pelita Harapan University.

Indeed, analysts say Obama has helped put Indonesia on the global radar and has taken a softer approach to bilateral relations than he predecessor.

?[President] Bush only saw us as a frontline in the war on terror,? says Philips Vermonte, a lead analyst at theCentre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta. With concerns about how the US president will influence peace negotiations in the Middle East, he added, ?Indonesians are more comfortable with an Obama presidency.?

Nardi, a sales and marketing manager at an American-style rib restaurant in Jakarta who only goes by one name, agrees. ?We need someone to lead the world, to maintain peace. Since Obama has been president we have seen a good impact for the whole country.?

Indonesian lawmakers were more mixed on the matter, as some politicians championed the US war on terrorism while others warned that the nation could be drawn into a US-China standoff, according to the Jakarta Globe.

Members of Indonesia's House of Representatives are hoping for closer ties. But there's skepticism about the prospect for change. ?Indonesia is still not a top priority in the US? foreign policy with the Far East,? National Mandate Party (PAN) deputy chairman Dradjad H. Wibowo told the Globe.

5. Pakistan

If the homepage of Pakistan's leading English Daily, the Dawn the morning after the polls closed is any indication, at least one segment of Pakistan has been kept a close watch on the election.

Monitor Correspondent Mahvish Ahmad reports that while average Pakistanis didn't much care who won, Pakistani officials and politicians (from right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami to sports hero-turned-politician Imran Khan) are quietly hoping that a cabinet reshuffle could soften an otherwise tense relationship between the two countries:

And rumors that Sen. John Kerry (D) fromMassachusetts could replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have some officials hoping that the former's many-year relationship with Pakistan could pave the way for an even smoother cooperation.

?It is of course up to the US president to appoint the Secretary of State. However, if speculations about Kerry become true, then that would be a positive development ? and a lot easier. Kerry has many friends in Pakistan. He obviously knows the region, and the ins and outs of our relationship,? says Fawad Chaudhury, a special assistant to Pakistan's prime minister.

(Read the rest of Monitor Correspondent Mahvish Ahmad's article on whether the election will change the US-Pakistan relationship)

6. Russia

Russia's response to the election was much more muted than in Asia. Many Russians appeared satisfied after waking up to the news. But nobody sounded elated.

Why?

The controversial "reset" of relations introduced by President Obama in his first term has run its course, leaving few lasting achievements behind, reports Monitor Correspondent Fred Weir:

And despite Obama's pledge to show the Russians "more flexibility" on the thorny issue of missile defense ? captured by a live mic at a meeting in Seoul earlier this year ? nobody in Moscow is expressing much hope for a breakthrough in the increasingly acrimonious relationship during Obama's second term.

"We have learned from that failed attempt by Obama to introduce a reset in our relations that there is room for improvement. And there was some, but it was very limited," says Viktor Kremeniuk, deputy director of the official Institute of USA-Canada Studies in Moscow, and one of Moscow's premier experts on America-Russia ties.

"Of course [Mitt] Romney's remarks, calling Russia the No. 1 geopolitical foe of the US, alarmed many of us," he says." But things have deteriorated badly in reality under Obama.... After all this, many of my colleagues and I had already come around to the view that not much would change after the election, regardless of which candidate won.

Mr. Kremeniuk adds: "At this point, we would consider it a good scenario if things don't go badly wrong between us in Obama's second term."

A September public opinion survey by the state-run VTsIOM public opinion agency found that positive attitudes toward the US has slipped modestly from 59 percent in 2010 to 53 percent today, while negative views have grown from 27 to 32 percent. Assessments of the prospects for better US-Russian relations have fallen more dramatically, from 69 percent two years ago to 53 percent today.

7. Mexico

Leading up to the United States presidential election, Latin Americans, like Latinos in the United States, widely favored the reelection of President Obama. But Monitor writer Sara Miller Llana reports the results themselves were generally met with a collective shrug.

Of all Latin Americans, Mexicans are perhaps most effected by US policy. The country shares a 2,000-mile border, a drug and weapons problem, and booming trade with its northern neighbor.

According to a poll before Tuesday?s election by the firm Mitofsky in Mexico City, 1 in 3 Mexicans said the election in the US was important. And they, like Latinos in the US who helped clinch Obama?s victory with record turnout, say they favor Obama. Thirty six percent of those surveyed said they wanted Obama to win, compared to just 6 percent who said they supported Romney.

?Mexicans favor Democrats, they believe Mexico will be better with a Democrat in power,? says Analicia Ruiz, an expert on US-Mexican relations at Anahuac University in Mexico City. ?There is a fear that Republicans will take a harder line on foreign affairs, such as more vigilance at the border.?

...

But belief that Democrats will be better on migration is not based on evidence, Ms. Ruiz says. With the exception of the temporary reprieve that Obama granted this summer to young undocumented migrants brought to the US as children, Obama has been unable to push through any meaningful reform on immigration. His administration has also been behind record deportations of undocumented immigrants.

?In reality Obama hasn?t done anything for Mexico,? Ruiz says.

8. Israel

In Israel, there's more anxiety about what the future may hold for US-Israel relations.

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu paid pretty quick tribute to 'rock solid' ties between the US and Israel when he congratulated Obama for his win, but many Israelis expressed concern about how the frosty first-term relationship that Obama had with Israel could affect his second term, reports Monitor Correspondent Joshua Mitnick.

Now that Mr. Obama is free of the constraints of reelection, Israelis worry that he will feel less compelled to mollify Mr. Netanyahu on disputes over the Palestinian peace process and blocking Iran?s nuclear program. Obama has pushed Israel to renew talks with the Palestinians and has refused a request from Netanyahu to publicly set a "red line" for military action against Iran?s nuclear program.

Alluding to the tension with language that seemed lifted from GOP candidate Mitt Romney's talking points, parliament member Danny Danon, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, expressed hope the president "resets his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years. Rather than dictating ill-advised policies that endanger the wellbeing of America's only true ally in the Middle East, now is the time for President Obama to return to the wise and time-honored policy of 'zero daylight' between our respective nations.''

If Obama pushes more diplomatic talks with Iran while allowing it to continue to enrich uranium, sore spots with the US are likely persist like they did late into the election campaign, says one political expert.

"We all know that relations between Obama and Netanyahu have been tense at times," says Ephraim Inbar, a political science professor at Bar Ilan University. "Israel will have difficulty swallowing" policies considered to be "appeasement" of Iran.

9. Britain

Britain seemed to let out a collective sigh today:

Robin Niblett, director of the foreign affairs thinktank Chatham House, told Monitor reporter Ben Quinn that he believed that there would have been been genuine ?relief? at Downing Street following Tuesday night?s result.

?My impression is that the president and the prime minister do genuinely get along. They are both pragmatists, both figures who are not particularly emotional about their policies. It's a different relationship to others in the past and therefore this is safe result at a time when the UK has a lot of challenges,? he said. ?Having to bed in relations with a new US administration at this moment is not what Cameron would need.?

Indeed, Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC during a trip to the Middle East that he had a good relationship with Obama.

"I have really enjoyed working with he over the last few years and I look forward to working with him again over the next four years,? he said.

A Guardian editorial lauded what it called US "good electoral judgment in difficult times:"

His victory wasn't big. It wasn't pretty. It didn't break the mould. It certainly wasn't inspirational in the way that his win in 2008 was. In places it was wafer-thin. But it was a US presidential win all the same. And the win in 2012 matters just as much as the earlier win did in 2008. In difficult times, it is even, arguably, a greater political achievement. Mr Obama's win is good for Americans, good for America, and good for the world.

10. Kenya

In Nyang'oma Kogelo, Kenya, where Obama's father was born, the Democratic win spurred raucous celebrations.

In the village about 258 miles west of Nairobi, Christian and traditional songs reverberated alongside African drumbeats and dances early in the morning as Obama?s win was announced on TV, reports Monitor Correspondent Fredrick Nzwili.

?The people are feeling proud," Gerald Majany who teaches Law and Peace Studies at the Africa Nazarene University told the Monitor. The pride is inspired by a feeling that their 'son' is leading the world?s greatest nation,? he said. ?There are also good lessons for Kenya politicians too; that politics is about issues, not tribe, race or religion.?

Kenya?s President Mwai Kibaki quickly released a statement wishing Obama good luck in his second term.

?We are always proud of association with you,? he said.

?Tonight?s electoral outcome will reignite faith worldwide, but especially in Africa, in the restorative capacity of democracy to deliver change and discard entrenched divisions,? said Kenya?s Prime Minister Raila Odinga in another statement.

Obama visited the village in 2006 to see his step-grandmother, who still lives there, putting the remote village on the map as the government installed electricity, brought easier acces to water, and paved roads. Charities have also sprung up here in an effort to help improve living conditions. The village hopes this will continue in Obama?s second term.

11. Iran

Iran offered mixed and muted reaction to Obama's victory.

For Tehran, the good news is that a war over its nuclear program is less likely. The bad news is that a president who first came to office determined to ?engage? Iran in 2009 has since then engineered crippling sanctions against it, writes Monitor reporter Scott Peterson.

?Relations with the US are not easy and after all the US pressures and crimes against the Iranian people, such relations are not possible [to establish] overnight,? Iran?s judicial chief Sadegh Larijani was quoted as saying by the Fars News Agency. ?The Americans should not imagine that they can blackmail our nation by sitting at the negotiating table with Iran.?

?Four years ago, Obama ? announced he would extend the hand of cooperation to Iran,? Mr. Larijani further said, according to the official IRNA news agency. ?But he pursued a different path and imposed unprecedented sanctions and it is natural the Iranian people will never forget such crimes.?

That narrative about how, in 2009, Obama had extended an ?iron hand covered by a velvet glove,? has been repeated several times in the past by Iran?s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Still, credible reports have circulated in recent weeks about back-channel talks between US and Iranian officials, as another round of nuclear talks loom later this month.

?Talks with the US are not a taboo, nor forbidden,? said Mohammed-Javad Larijani, head of Iran?s Human Rights Council and brother of Sadegh, according to Mehr News.

?Iran needs a strategy of interaction with its enemies,? said Mr. Larijani, in remarks that Mehr News inexplicably removed and then restored on its web page. ?If it benefits the [Islamic] system, we will negotiate with the US even in the depth of hell.?

Fars News gave a different rendition of Larijani?s words: ?Negotiation with the US due to pressure is not acceptable to us,? and could only be ?contemplated? as part of a ?strategy? laid down by Ayatollah Khamenei.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-reacting-obamas-reelection-203131757.html

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