The world continues to react to the nomination of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. In this editorial roundup of six regional German newspapers from the Financial Times Deutschland, most seldom heard-of on these shores, one gets an interesting sense of the range of opinion in that country.
For example, Markische Oderzeitung of Frankfurt says this:
“The nomination of Hillary Clinton, his ‘toughest campaign opponent,’ as he said of her yesterday, will not be well-received by all Democrats. But his decision to choose the New York senator is prudent. It is the attempt to integrate a potential future opponent, who has impressed with her extensive political experience and considerable intellect. … Unless the ‘Clinton Enterprise’ fails and she succumbs to the temptation of injecting her own agenda into the most important U.S. government agency, this may well end up being one of Obama’s great achievements.”
The Obermain Tagblatt has this to say:
“Obama is lucky; Clinton could have won. Not only because she has the political experience that he lacks. By integrating her – and Republican Gates at the Pentagon, Obama has managed to draw in his opponents. A government of national unity, if you like; willing and hopefully able to pull off the tour de force that America so badly needs.”
GERMAN REGIONAL EDITORIAL ROUNDUP
Translated By Ulf Behncke
December 3, 2008
Germany – Financial Times Deutschland – Original Article (German)
With the appointment of his former rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Barack Obama has shown that he wants to build bridges. But Clinton’s power base in Washington as well as her husband Bill’s, may also involve risks, commentators in Germany’s daily newspapers judge.
Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin)
“A Secretary of State Clinton does bring her own set of problems. She called Obama’s plan to withdraw from Iraq, negotiating with Iran and speaking with Pakistan “frankly naive.” Moreover, husband Bill’s activities remain a risk. The advantages of integration outweigh the disadvantages, however. Around the cabinet table Hillary will be compelled to show loyalty and it will be almost impossible for her to muster a campaign against Obama in 2012.
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