Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Most Countries Think Bush Does Not Play Positive Role in World Affairs

Aired May 28, 2003 - 15:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


Well, the president's high profile role on the world stage has earned him plenty of detractors even close to home. In an interview with Reuters, Canada Prime Minister Jean Chretien was unusually blunt about his differences with the president.
Quote -- "I'm for gun control. He's against it," he said. "I'm against capital punishment. He supports it. I'm for the right to an abortion even though I'm a Catholic, and he's against it."

Mr. Chretien also noted that the rising U.S. budget deficit in contrast to the expected budget surplus this year in Canada.

Well, Canada's leader is not alone in its criticism of President Bush and U.S. government policies. Our Bill Schneider has the results of a multi-nation opinion poll engaging public attitudes toward America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Here's a reporter asking the U.S. secretary of state and the French foreign minister how they would describe relations between the two countries.

DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: (SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Excellent.

QUESTION: Excelante?

POWELL: Excellent.

SCHNEIDER: But if you ask the people you get a different result. The Ipso (ph) polling organization did just that in eight countries last week.

Do people they think President Bush plays a positive role in world affairs? Americans certainly do, 72 percent.

Does anyone else? Not citizens of Britain and Canada, historically America's closest allies. Fewer than 40 percent in either country have a positive role of President Bush's role in the world. Italians think a little more highly of President Bush, but not much. And in the rest of Europe -- in Germany, France, Spain and Russia, fewer than one in four express an admiring opinion of President Bush.

MARTIN LINDNER, MEMBER OF BERLIN PARLIAMENT: Bush is too much Texas style for the most of the Europeans.

SCHNEIDER: Apparently so.

Do people in the rest of the world believe the U.S. did the right thing by taking military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq? Once again, Americans do, and so do most people in Britain. Canadians and Italians are split.

Other Europeans have issues. Fewer than 1 in 3 people in Germany, France and Spain think the U.S. did the right thing in Iraq. And in Russia, only 10 percent praised the U.S. for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Who says you can't quarrel with success?

JEFF GEDMIN, DIR. ASPEN INST. BERLIN: I don't think that this was about Iraq at all. I think this was about America. It's about power. It's about weakness, it's about resentment, it's about envy.

SCHNEIDER: People in other countries are agreed on one point: nobody can stop the U.S. from doing whatever it wants in the world. About two-thirds in every country say that's for sure.

Every country but one. Only half of Americans believe the U.S. is unstoppable in the world.

People in other countries are frustrated. Take the Russians. Over 70 percent say the U.S. has a strong influence on world affairs. Only 14 percent believe Russia does. How the mighty have fallen.

CAROLINE FETSCHER, COLUMNIST, DER TAGESPIEGEL: The European federation is not strong enough yet to come up with a creative foreign policy. As long as that's the case, we're going to have to live with the fact that the U.S. are doing it, no matter if we like it or not. That's the case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: The message of this poll is, they don't like it -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Hmmm. That's a pretty interesting results. Bill Schneider, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




World Affairs>


Aired May 28, 2003 - 15:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
Well, the president's high profile role on the world stage has earned him plenty of detractors even close to home. In an interview with Reuters, Canada Prime Minister Jean Chretien was unusually blunt about his differences with the president.
Quote -- "I'm for gun control. He's against it," he said. "I'm against capital punishment. He supports it. I'm for the right to an abortion even though I'm a Catholic, and he's against it."

Mr. Chretien also noted that the rising U.S. budget deficit in contrast to the expected budget surplus this year in Canada.

Well, Canada's leader is not alone in its criticism of President Bush and U.S. government policies. Our Bill Schneider has the results of a multi-nation opinion poll engaging public attitudes toward America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Here's a reporter asking the U.S. secretary of state and the French foreign minister how they would describe relations between the two countries.

DOMINIQUE DE VILLEPIN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: (SPEAKING IN FRENCH)

COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Excellent.

QUESTION: Excelante?

POWELL: Excellent.

SCHNEIDER: But if you ask the people you get a different result. The Ipso (ph) polling organization did just that in eight countries last week.

Do people they think President Bush plays a positive role in world affairs? Americans certainly do, 72 percent.

Does anyone else? Not citizens of Britain and Canada, historically America's closest allies. Fewer than 40 percent in either country have a positive role of President Bush's role in the world. Italians think a little more highly of President Bush, but not much. And in the rest of Europe -- in Germany, France, Spain and Russia, fewer than one in four express an admiring opinion of President Bush.

MARTIN LINDNER, MEMBER OF BERLIN PARLIAMENT: Bush is too much Texas style for the most of the Europeans.

SCHNEIDER: Apparently so.

Do people in the rest of the world believe the U.S. did the right thing by taking military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq? Once again, Americans do, and so do most people in Britain. Canadians and Italians are split.

Other Europeans have issues. Fewer than 1 in 3 people in Germany, France and Spain think the U.S. did the right thing in Iraq. And in Russia, only 10 percent praised the U.S. for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. Who says you can't quarrel with success?

JEFF GEDMIN, DIR. ASPEN INST. BERLIN: I don't think that this was about Iraq at all. I think this was about America. It's about power. It's about weakness, it's about resentment, it's about envy.

SCHNEIDER: People in other countries are agreed on one point: nobody can stop the U.S. from doing whatever it wants in the world. About two-thirds in every country say that's for sure.

Every country but one. Only half of Americans believe the U.S. is unstoppable in the world.

People in other countries are frustrated. Take the Russians. Over 70 percent say the U.S. has a strong influence on world affairs. Only 14 percent believe Russia does. How the mighty have fallen.

CAROLINE FETSCHER, COLUMNIST, DER TAGESPIEGEL: The European federation is not strong enough yet to come up with a creative foreign policy. As long as that's the case, we're going to have to live with the fact that the U.S. are doing it, no matter if we like it or not. That's the case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: The message of this poll is, they don't like it -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: Hmmm. That's a pretty interesting results. Bill Schneider, thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




World Affairs>