American Voters Speak, and the World Talks Back

Nov. 8, 2006 — -- Throughout the world, there is a widespread view, even a sense of glee, that the Bush administration woke up to a breakfast of force-fed humility Wednesday.

From Iraq to Britain to Denmark to Italy to Iraq, ABC News has monitored world reaction to the U.S. midterm elections.

In Germany, Juergen Trittin, former minister of the environment and deputy head of the opposition Green parliamentary group, said, "The results of the congressional elections will put a strong damper on the one-sided and dogmatic policies of George W. Bush. This was the bill to the White House for their disaster in Iraq."

Hundreds of millions of people digested the election results along with their breakfasts, and for the most part, seemed to taste a vague promise of change in U.S. foreign policy.

In Denmark, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said," I hope that the president and Congress under these new conditions find a common line regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. The world needs an active United States. It's too early to say what this will mean for U.S. policy in Iraq. But after an election where voters have sent a clear signal, politicians will listen."

Toby Helm, the chief political correspondent for London's Daily Telegraph and a frequent "Worldview" guest on ABC News Now, said, "I think it will put [Prime Minister] Tony Blair under serious new strains to rethink his policy in Iraq. It will put pressure on him to formulate some sort of strategy for the withdrawing of the troops, and is bound to have an effect on the main countries backing the war."

Helm also told ABC News that "it will embolden the Conservative Party and give an opportunity for the Labor Party to distance itself from Tony Blair."

Blair did not immediately comment on the results of the U.S. midterm election.

Politicians hoping to succeed Blair when he steps down next year had some outspoken thoughts.

"The message of the American people is clear. There needs to be a major change of direction on Iraq," said John McDonnell, a Labor Party lawmaker and candidate for the party's leadership next year. "These election results have not only damaged Bush, they mean that Blair is now totally isolated in the international community."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Muslim Shiite whose testy relations with Washington over control and tactics of Iraq's Shiite-dominated security forces have often spilled into public clashes, told the BBC that he did not believe a shift in Congress would bring any noticeable change in U.S. policy on Iraq.

"I understand that America will always work for America's interest in its foreign policy. The relationship will not experience any major or dramatic change if new opinions surface after the elections," he said.

On the streets of Iraq, where the burning question is how much longer U.S. forces will remain in that country, Mohamed Husni, a 24-year-old Baghdad taxi driver, said he hoped the shift in Congress would bring an immediate withdrawal.

"The Democrats have been saying they will withdraw, but I'm sure they will disappoint us. The Americans have ruined everything and the only solution is to let Iraqis deal with this mess," he said.

But some Iraqi citizens hold out hope. Baghdad resident Um Assad said, "We hope that they [Democrats] will be kind with our people and understand our problems." Zreki Nayif, another Baghdad resident, said, "The Democrats are better than Bush's people. We want security and peace to prevail in the country."

Saleem al-Jubouri, spokesman for the largest Sunni political group, said that the Democrats' position on Iraq is closer to the vision of minority Sunni Arabs.

"We believe the Democrats, with their general anti-war stance, want to improve policies," said al-Jubouri. But "we fear they'll struggle to achieve changes."

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador to Iraq, told an embassy reception that Bush is "committed to working with both houses of the American Congress to get support needed for the mission in Iraq to succeed."

In Italy, Sergio Romano, the Italian political commentator for the newspaper Corriere della Sera, told ABC News that Europe sees Bush as wounded but politically alive. "President Bush ... still has the power of veto. He can appoint people to top jobs, but it is going to be considerably more difficult for Bush, personally. The Democrats are going to find it easier to embarrass the president."

Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi said bluntly, "This is a political judgment, which follows the [Bush] administration's political actions that we consider to be wrong. These years have been marked by the failure of Bush's unilateral policy."

In France, the political classes seem delighted. "I am happy to see American foreign policy criticized by the American people because it is bad," said Francois Fillon, a conservative lawmaker close to French presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy.

But, said Francois Heisbourg, of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, Bush is now free from the need to walk a tightrope for votes. "The Democrats will make life unpleasant for Bush ... [but] since Bush no longer has to worry about elections, his hands are free. The paradox is that his political margin of maneuver is greater than before."

In Asia, where important U.S. interests are at stake, ABC News correspondent Mark Litke said, "The Bush administration long ago lost the "strong support" on Iraq policy from the allies who joined the war on terror at its onset -- Japan, Korea, the Philippines. All provided troops for Iraq duty, and all have pulled those troops out."

China, where U.S. officials have been lobbying for more political support against North Korea's declared nuclear program, had no immediate official reaction to the American elections. According to ABC News' Melissa Chan, "Most people here don't follow U.S. politics -- most people here don't follow any politics. Most of them don't understand our particular voting system or the real significance of these midterm elections."

But in Japan, ABC News producer Noriko Namiki reported that "every major station in Japan carried live reports from Washington, and said Americans voted mainly on one issue this time -- the White House policy on Iraq."

With reporting from ABC News' bureaus.in Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokya, Rome, Baghdad and London.