Obama, Merkel others reach out to France’s Hollande
PARIS (AFP) – European and world leaders reached out Monday
to president-elect Francois Hollande, France’s first Socialist head of
state in 17 years, despite jitters about his pledge to renegotiate
Europe’s austerity pact.
The euro wobbled and world stock markets tumbled as the presidential
vote in France and Greece’s general election stoked anxiety about the
fate of austerity policies designed to end the eurozone’s crippling debt
crisis.
But Chancellor Angela Merkel of European powerhouse Germany wasted no
time in contacting Hollande after Sunday’s election, even though she
had made no secret of her support for toppled right-wing leader Nicolas
Sarkozy.
Merkel, whose government has ruled out any renegotiation of the EU
fiscal pact, nevertheless said she would welcome Hollande “with open
arms” when he visits Berlin shortly after he takes office on May 15.
She said they agreed during a telephone call Sunday to work “well and
intensively” together, adding: “Franco-German cooperation is essential
for Europe and we all want Europe to succeed.”
US President Barack Obama also telephoned Hollande to congratulate
him and invite him to the White House this month, after Sarkozy became
the latest European leader to be toppled by the eurozone crisis.
Obama “indicated that he looks forward to working closely with Mr
Hollande and his government on a range of shared economic and security
challenges,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.
Hollande, 57, has called on the eurozone to broaden its focus from
austerity to incorporate growth, a message he repeated in his victory
speech, declaring, “Austerity can no longer be the only option.”
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said he shared Hollande’s goal.
“We clearly have a common objective: relaunching the European economy
to generate durable growth,” he said. “We must now transform these
aspirations into concrete actions.”
Britain’s conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, who had backed
Sarkozy at the beginning of the election campaign, also vowed to work
with Hollande to strengthen the Franco-British relationship, a spokesman
said.
Cameron’s domestic austerity drive, however, is at odds with the incoming French president’s belief in government-driven growth.
Spain’s conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose own spending
cuts have sparked street protests in a country suffering recession and a
24-percent jobless rate, said he would speak to Hollande on Monday.
“Mr Hollande has won and it is my obligation to get along with him
and try to work together for the benefit of Spain, France and Europe,”
Rajoy said on Spanish radio.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said he hoped for close
cooperation aimed “at an increasingly efficient and growth-oriented
union” between the two neighbours.
Hollande’s win was “good for Poland, for France and for Europe” as it
may signal Paris becoming more open to its international partners, a
senior advisor to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski said, describing
Hollande as a “very centrist socialist and a resolute European.”
Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a message of congratulations and
Bejing said it was ready to work with France to develop relations “from a
strategic and long term perspective”.
Japan also congratulated Hollande but said it will “carefully
monitor” how Europe reacts to his election as the continent grapples
with the debt crises, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura noting
the health of the European economy “greatly affects” the fate of the
ailing Asian giant.
In Damascus, a Syrian newspaper gave a jubilant welcome to the defeat
of Sarkozy, whose foreign minister Alain Juppe had raised the prospect
of military intervention to end the regime’s bloody crackdown on
protests.
“The Sarkozy-Juppe duo in the dustbin of history,” gloated the front-page headline of the pro-government Al-Watan.
Tehran said it hoped for a “new era” in ties with France, where
Sarkozy was one of the most vocal critics of Iran’s nuclear programme,
calling for Hollande’s policies to “correct past wrong approaches”.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said he was hoping
for a change in relations, which have been dogged by French opposition
to Ankara’s efforts to join the EU and French legislation on Armenian
genocide.
“We hope the new era in France will be very different to the previous
period in terms of Franco-Turkish relations,” he said, voicing hope
that “populist messages” during the election campaign would not
translate into policy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope friendly
ties would continue, adding: “I look forward to a meeting with him to
continue this important relationship — important bilaterally and
internationally”.
Latin American nations also sent congratulations, led by economic
powerhouse Brazil, while other left-leaning leaders including Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez hailed Hollande’s “clear victory” over Sarkozy.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said Hollande’s win was “a
triumph of democracy” and urged France “remain a strong supporter of
global action to promote democracy, good governance and rapid
socio-economic development in Africa”.
In Tunisia, President Moncef Marzouki said his country wanted to strengthen ties with its former colonial master under Hollande.
