May 6, 2007

The West Moves Rightward

Mexico recently elected a conservative government. Canada recently elected a conservative government. Germany recently elected a conservative government. Now, France has elected a conservative government. That's four big countries with significant American ties whose people have chosen conservative governments in recent months - and three of them American allies in NATO in which voters saw fit to replace an anti-Bush administration government with one more pro-American. I'd call that a trend.

Update: PowerLine's Paul Mirengoff writes that Sarkozy's victory "is sweet from an American perspective."

This is a leader who expresses unabashed admiration for our country. In his victory speech today, Sarkozy made a point to include this passage: "Let me say to our American friends, they can count on our friendship."

The U.S. has now seen the leadership of both France and Germany pass to figures who believe, as a general matter, that American power is a force for good in the world, and not something that needs persistently to be constrained. Let's hope that in 2009 the U.S. still has a leader who concurs.