Of the emerging pantheon of articles about why other nations lack their own Obamas, this article from Germany is particularly eye-opening. According to Werner A. Perger of Die Zeit, Germany’s political parties discourage charismatic figures who tend to take the initiative. And why is that? It seems that the road Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party took that nation down is the chief cause of this aversion.
Posing the question, Perger writes in part:
“No wonder that in Old Europe, Obama’s electoral win was registered not only with relief but respect. One is downright fascinated at the way this young senator came out of nowhere, saw and conquered; how he transformed mistrust into confidence through a rhetorical laying on of hands, got young people off of their sofas and in no time at all, made them into campaign volunteers. And how week after week on the Internet, he set new fundraising records by collecting small contributions. Obama is a true fisher of men. It all seemed to happen just the way it was supposed to: Everyone seemed to agree that we [Germans] need and want someone like him. But where is he? ”
Later, Perger makes his central point:
“At least for those who are sensitive to the past, even if they agree with the correctness of what is being said, the historical reminder of the eternal cipher’s speech at the Sport Palace is hard to shake. [This was a speech delivered by the Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels at the Berlin Sportpalast on February 18, 1943, calling for “total war,” as the tide of World War II was turning against Germany, see photo, left . The author calls Goebbels the ‘eternal cipher’].
By Werner A. Perger
Translated By James Jacobson
November 11, 2008
Germany – Die Zeit – Original Article (Germany)
Europeans admire him. All the German parties would like to have an Obama. But they won’t get one – because they are what they are.
Now everyone, or nearly everyone, is relieved. Finally America is again something to admire. The horror of the Bush-Cheney years is over. The citizens of the United States settled this themselves in a classic act of democracy. And so the pathos of the American Dream suddenly sounds much less of a falsehood as it has for the past eight years. Barack Obama, the winner of the election, has changed the way people view the United States, or perhaps it would be better to say, he adjusted it.
No wonder that in Old Europe, Obama’s electoral win was registered not only with relief but respect. One is downright fascinated at the way this young senator came out of nowhere, saw and conquered; how he transformed mistrust into confidence through a rhetorical laying on of hands, got young people off of their sofas and in no time at all, made them into campaign volunteers. And how week after week on the Internet, he set new fundraising records by collecting small contributions. Obama is a true fisher of men. It all seemed to happen just the way it was supposed to: Everyone seemed to agree that we [Germans] need and want someone like him. But where is he?
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