European Socialists eager to work with U.S. Democrats
Reuters
Thursday, December 7, 2006; 3:43 PM
OPORTO, Portugal (Reuters) - European Socialists promised on Thursday to work to rebuild Europe's strategic alliance with the United States now that the Democrats control Congress after last month's elections.
Socialist leaders attending a meeting of the European Socialist Party pledged that with the Democrats on the rise, strong ties could be renewed with the United States after years of cool relations with Republican President George W. Bush.
Howard Dean, chairman of the national committee of the U.S. Democratic Party, is attending the two-day conference together with the leaders of leftist governments of several countries and party leaders from across Europe.
"We are not anti-American, we want the real America, your America," former Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, president of the European Socialist Party, said in remarks directed at Dean.
The Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994 in the mid-term elections, reshaping the political landscape ahead of the 2008 presidential race.
"Europe needs an America that is back on track," said Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country is hosting the meeting.
"We need, today more than ever, to reinforce and renew the strategic alliance between the United States and Europe," Socrates said. "We know that a stronger Democratic Party is key for this to happen."
Socialists, or centre-left governments, currently hold or share power in just over half of Europe.
Many European governments, not just Socialist ones, have above all been angered by Bush's war in Iraq and what has been seen as the U.S. failure to work with allies in international affairs.
They expressed hopes after last month's election for a new era of open dialogue on a more equal footing with Washington and the Bush administration during the final two years of his presidency.
Socrates said Dean's Democrats "should know that they can count on European Socialists" for support.
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Why am I not surprised?
