Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Leaders from around the world have congratulated re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama on his success at the ballot box.
Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he “will continue to work with President Obama to preserve the strategic interests of Israel’s citizens” and described relations between the U.S. and Israel as “rock solid”. Some others within the ruling Likud party were not so optimistic about the relationship, with Knesset member Danny Danon criticising Obama for “ill-advised” policies towards Israel and hoping Obama “resets his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years”.
A statement on behalf of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas expressed hope that Obama “continues his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East”.
The British Prime Minister David Cameron took time from his tour of the Middle East to congratulate Obama and listed as shared priorities a trade deal between the U.S. and the United Kingdom as well as solving the crisis in Syria. Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour Party, stated on Twitter that Obama’s success in the election was “based on building fairer economy and optimism about what politics can achieve.”
French leader François Hollande said in choosing Obama over Mitt Romney, voters in the United States had voted for “an America of openness and solidarity, fully engaged on the international scene and conscious of the challenges facing our planet: peace, economy and the environment”. He listed economic growth, unemployment, and the Middle East as challenges the two politicians would have to face. German leader Angela Merkel stated she “deeply appreciated” meetings and conversations with Obama on issues including “overcoming the global financial and economic crisis”.
Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, issued a joint statement which described the U.S. as “a key strategic partner of the European Union” and hoped to meet Obama “at an early date in order to reconfirm our priorities and provide renewed impetus to our joint action”.
Across Africa, Obama received congratulations from South African President Jacob Zuma, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, and Raila Odinga, the Prime Minister of Kenya.