Europe's New Pro-American Direction

Silvio Berlusconi’s re-election as Italy’s Prime Minister is more promising and more important for Italy and the United States, and for trans-Atlantic relations generally, than most commentators have admitted. President Bush’s critics have been quick to assign him blame for weakened trans-Atlantic relations, particularly because of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

But look today at Europe’s political leadership: Nicolas Sarkozy in France has replaced the bitterly anti-American Jacques Chirac. In Germany, Angela Merkel has replaced the dyspeptic and anti-Iraq war Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Britain now once again speaks about the US-UK “special relationship.”

Europe’s new political configuration has already partially manifested itself in NATO’s decision in Bucharest to support deployment of U.S. missile defense assets in Poland and the Czech Republic. And now, Berlusconi will soon return to the Chigi Palace. How times change.

[I.e., there's a resurgence of conservative principles occurring in old-Europe (already well under way in 'new' Europe - and embarrassing the oldies) -- at exactly the same time America is running toward Socialism. How times do change.]

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