Europeans Want Obama for U.S.
Germany Most Interested in U.S. Election, Against Extra Soldiers
If Europeans had their say then Democratic candidate Barack Obama would win the November U.S. Presidential election by a landslide over John McCain.
Nearly 80% of French for Obama
In a Harris Interactive online poll done between October 1 and 13 for FRANCE 24 in partnership with the International Herald Tribune, 78% of just more than 1,000 French surveyed in October said they would vote for Obama if they could. And just 1% said they would cast their vote for McCain with the rest being for neither of these candidates or not sure.
Of more than 1,000 Germans, 72% said they would select Obama while just 5% said McCain was their man to lead the United States for the next four years. In Italy - also just more than 1,000 polled - 66% were for Obama and 12% for McCain. In Spain, the numbers were 68% for Obama and 8% for McCain.
Only in Britain was Obama not an overwhelming winner. Of just more than 1,000 polled, 48% said they would elect Obama. McCain received 11% of the vote. But 27% of the Britons said they were not sure who to vote for with 14% saying neither Obama nor McCain.
Interest Low In Britain, High in Germany
That so many in Great Britain were not sure is not surprising as the poll said that 47% of Britons were not interested in the U.S. presidential election. The U.S. election has quite a different meaning for those surveyed in Germany, where 44% were either extremely interested or very interested and another 41% were somewhat interested. France (75%) Italy (74%) and Spain (72%) were all a bit less interested than Germans.
Main Topics for Europeans Other Than Those For Americans
According to the Harris Interactive poll, the three most named topics to challenge the new U.S. President will be the military situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic state in the U.S. and the climate change. The successful end to the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan was of the highest priority for Europeans while 85% of the some 1,000 Americans asked said the economic situation was most important.
Obama Ahead Since Earlier Studies
Obama has enjoyed a lead in European polls since fending off Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic presidential candidate. According to a Forsa poll published on August 25 by the German media group Welt-Gruppe and the television station n-tv, the U.S. Senator from Illinois would receive 74% of the vote from Germans compared to just 11% for McCain.
Obama's highest percentage came from 18-29 year-olds who voted 84% for the Democrat, who in July was met by some 200,000 Germans during a speech in Berlin. He also enjoyed percentages higher than 84% among Social Democrat members, Greens and the Left Party.
And a poll on August 13 in the German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag done by Emnid found that 72% were for Obama with 11% for McCain. Of those from the former East Germany asked, 77% favored Obama and 86% of those with at least a high school diploma equivalent said they would vote for the Democrat.
Numbers Keep Going Up
The numbers in Germany have gone up considerably since Obama visited the German capital in July. Just before Obama came to Berlin, the news magazine stern published results of a poll of just more than 1,000 people on July 17 in which 61% were in favor of the Democratic candidate Obama. The highest support received was from supporters of the Green Party (72%).
Germans Against More Soldiers in Afghanistan Or Call to Iraq
The stern poll did however state clearly that Germans are against sending more German soldiers in Afghanistan or being called to help out in Iraq. In the poll, 79% said they were against it with only 14% for the increased military involvement.
Different Story in May
But a poll by the British paper Daily Telegraph from May 30 of more than 2,000 Britons, and more than 1,000 each French, Russians, Italians and Germans told an interesting story. While on average 52% were for Obama and 15% for McCain. In Russia, 31% were in favor of Obama compared to 24% for McCain. And 36% of the Russians in May thought McCain could solve the world economic problem, compared to just 28% for Obama
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