Posted on: Wednesday, June 13, 2001
Editorial
Style separates Bush, Europeans
Longtime observers note that almost every modern American president has received a chilly reception from Europe in his early days in office. Perhaps it amounts to a reminder that decades of cordial cooperation should not be taken for granted.
As in past instances, the apparent divisions between our new president, George Bush, and the Europeans may not be as substantive as they appear.
He's being razzed about his environmental policies, his support for the death penalty and his missile defense plan.
While many European governments abhor the American practice of capital punishment, in truth majorities of voters in several European countries favor it, in much the same proportions as Americans. Of course, as many as half of Americans have grave doubts about the way the death penalty is administered in their country.
It didn't help frame the issue to Bush's advantage that Timothy McVeigh had been put to death only hours before he began this week's trip to Europe. But rather than consider changing the timing of the visit, it appears to have given him a burst of combative energy.
Similarly, Bush might be said to be taking a bad rap on global warming in Europe. After all, few European nations were likely to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
The Europeans have made it clear they oppose Bush's missile defense plan. Yet there is privately expressed interest in it in Europe, and — perhaps more important — the chances of Bush's executing the plan are fading. That's because of the power shift in the Senate and because of opposition to it within Bush's administration.
So for the moment, it appears Bush is being subjected to a rather normal European welcome. He seems in trouble not so much for his basic policy choices, but for the unilateral way in which he seems to assert them. In a steadily unifying, collaborative Europe, that doesn't sell well.
It is now up to Bush, in his first big foreign diplomatic challenge, to determine how things go from here.
