World reacts to US elections

US midterm election results that heralded a massive power shift in the American political landscape were greeted with jubilation around the world.

From Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens said they hoped the Democratic takeover of Congress and the departure of defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld would force US President George Bush to adopt a more conciliatory approach to the globe’s crises, and teach a president many see as a “cowboy” a lesson in humility.

In Italy, Premier Romano Prodi said Rumsfeld’s surprise resignation in particular underscored the depth of what has happened in America.

“Even though US politics had already started changing, Rumsfeld’s resignation means an accentuation of this change,” said Prodi.

“We’ll see over the next few days what the new direction will be, but certainly we have a political structure both in the executive power, in the House and in the Senate, that is deeply different from that of a few days ago.”

The defence secretary was both deeply hated and grudgingly admired around the world for his unwavering stance on Iraq and support for controversial Bush administration policies like the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and harsh interrogation methods that many feel border on torture.

In Afghanistan, the government of President Hamid Karzai expressed sadness over Rumsfeld’s abrupt departure.

“We are sad that he has resigned,” Jawed Ludin, the chief of staff for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said. “We in Afghanistan are very pleased and very grateful for (Rumsfeld’s) support for Afghanistan.”

Ludin added that Kabul did not expect Washington to changes its policy toward the country.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has been criticised by some conservative Republicans, offered a diplomatic take on the impact of a Democratic Congress on work at the United Nations.

“We have been here for over 60 years,” Annan said.

“We have seen lots of elections in the United States and we have worked with the winners, whether Democratic or Republican, and we look forward to working with the administration and the new Congress as they move in, and we will want to work with them as effectively as we have worked with others.”

Elsewhere, giddiness over an electoral black eye for Bush was almost palpable throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

In an extraordinary joint statement, more than 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament hailed the American election results as “the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world” and said they left the Bush administration “seriously weakened”.

In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, applauded Rumsfeld’s resignation and suggested Bush should quit as well. The leftist leader beamed as he read aloud a news report of Rumsfeld’s resignation.

“Heads are beginning to roll,” Chavez said during a news conference yesterday. “It was about time he resigned. The president should resign now.”

In Sri Lanka, some said they hoped the rebuke would force Bush to abandon a unilateral approach to global issues.

“The Americans have made it clear that current American policy should change in dealing with the world, from a confrontational approach to a more consensus-based and bridge-building approach,” said Jehan Perera, a political analyst.

The Democratic win means “there will be more control and restraint” over US foreign policy.

Passions were even higher in Pakistan, where Bush is deeply unpopular despite billions in aid and staunch support for President General Pervez Musharraf.

One opposition politician, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, said he welcomed the election result but was hoping for more. Bush “deserves to be removed, put on trial and given a Saddam-like death sentence”, he said.

The prospect of a sudden change in American foreign policy could also be troubling to countries such as Britain, Japan and Australia, which have thrown their support behind the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Democrats campaigned on a platform that demanded a change of direction in Iraq, and the war has lost the support of the majority of American voters.

“The problem for Arabs now is an American withdrawal (from Iraq) could be a security disaster for the entire region,” said Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi analyst for the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai.

He said the Middle East could be left to cope with a disintegrating Iraq mired in civil war, with refugees fleeing a failed state that could become an incubator for terrorism.

Today, Australia’s conservative Prime Minister John Howard said he did not believe Washington would pull its troops out of Iraq.

“The strategy is not going to change,” Howard told reporters in Canberra. “Clearly the president has reacted to the vote. Obviously he has and that is sensible but his reaction does not amount to a fundamental change in direction.”