In Europe, Bush’s America Is a Real Turnoff

Horst Henning is not a subtle man.

“Nein, nein, nein” reverberates often from his lips.

So when the question arose about the poor state of affairs between the United States and Europe, Henning, a retired bus driver, sat on a park bench here and aimed his wrath at President Bush. As if a bad odor had just engulfed him, Henning lifted a finger to his nose and snapped: “Bush wants to rule the world. He has big muscles, but the brain of a mouse.”

Although the major combat in Iraq is long over, there remains an unsettled peace between the longtime transatlantic allies. Anti-American sentiment -- rooted largely in the policies and personalities of the Bush administration -- remains palpable across the continent. Europe’s strong opposition to the war has intensified with Washington’s failure to discover significant evidence that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“It was a betrayal of world opinion,” said German novelist Peter Schneider. “We are much more doubtful of America’s moral high ground.”

Finding common ground with the U.S. is a tedious effort. A liberal Europe is wondering how to reconcile with a conservative White House that doesn’t seek approving nods from Paris and Berlin.

Bush has become the caricatured poster boy for Europe’s disdain, but much of the vitriol directed at him points to deeper differences that emerged between transatlantic friends after the fall of the Soviet Union -- and before he was in office. And many Europeans fear that the America they once considered naive but sincere has evolved into a more sinister power.

“It’s frightening to see the political landscape so divided,” said Katja Koch, an interior designer from Berlin.

Throughout the 1990s and the first years of this century, Europe grew wary of Washington’s status as the world’s sole superpower and criticized the U.S. for drifting toward religious conservatism, practicing capital punishment, snubbing environmental treaties and mastering globalization to saturate the planet with American values and commerce. Meanwhile, wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo reinforced America’s military superiority over the less advanced armies of its allies.

Europe became less of an equal partner with Washington and something more akin to a pipsqueak stuck in the sidecar of an American-made motorcycle. Insecurities about the transatlantic relationship intensified over the last 10 years as European leaders attempted to unify the continent while dealing with rapidly aging populations, immigration pressures, the revival of right-wing political movements and stagnant economies, especially in Germany and France.

But Europe’s affinity for Bill Clinton, then the occupant of the White House, kept the diplomatic veneer intact, and relations with some nations -- notably Britain -- grew stronger. Cracks developed with the election of President Bush, who for many Europeans epitomized the stereotype of the swaggering, defiant and sometimes-snickering American. With the Cold War over and terrorism the overriding concern in Washington, the 6-decade-old transatlantic bond weakened as the U.S. and Europe differed over a new world order.

“Sept. 11 changed America,” said Karl A. Lamers, a German legislator and a member of the NATO Parliament who has close ties to Washington. “I remember 40 years ago, when John F. Kennedy came to this country and said that a Soviet attack on Cologne or Frankfurt was an attack on the U.S. But he never imagined something like that could happen in America. It has happened, and everything has changed. History has opened a new chapter.”

Friendship in ‘Crisis’

Old alliances are being recast as former friends act for their own national good. Although the U.S. and Europe still share strategic and economic interests, their political friendship has lost much of its warmth.

The European Union, for example, is expanding beyond the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and building its own military. This, along with the continent’s shift to a single currency, is conjuring Eurocentric attitudes and desires to balance American power. For its part, the U.S. plans to downsize its bases in Europe and shift forces eastward, saying the move is in response to new global threats. Spats erupt daily on a litany of other issues -- genetically modified foods, human rights, so-called greenhouse gases.

“In the French-American relationship, this is the biggest crisis ever,” said Philippe Roger, a French scholar whose book, “The American Enemy,” examines France’s centuries-old anti-Americanism. “The French government is eager to forget about it.... But I am more struck by the lack of interest in America to repair things.”

The U.S.-European relationship “won’t go back to what it once was,” said Andreas Etges, a history professor who organized an exhibit at the German Historical Museum in Berlin commemorating the 40th anniversary of Kennedy’s visit.

“The world has moved on and is a different place,” he said. “Germany is still an important ally, but Germany has to be taken seriously and won’t just go along with the U.S. anymore.”

Even the British -- embroiled in their own debate over suspect intelligence information Prime Minister Tony Blair used to justify sending troops to Iraq -- are questioning their bonds with America.

“On paper, we should be closer to the U.S. than ever at the moment,” British playwright Tamsin Oglesby wrote this year in the Independent, a London newspaper. “But the Atlantic seems wider than usual.”

Europeans burst into salvos of anti-Americanism over cups of cappuccino or steins of beer. Bush, they say, is a Scripture-quoting cowboy. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, they warn, is much worse. Then, sensitive not to offend, they often smile and speak of their vacations in the U.S. and how they have no quibble with Americans -- other than their decision to make Bush president.

“My feeling is that there is ... a generous friendship with the Americans,” said Franco Ferrarotti, a sociologist in Rome. “But when it comes to politics ... [Americans] have no sense of measure, no sense of proportion, so that the war becomes a bloodshed.”

Still Out of Favor

Surveys indicate that the dismal view Europeans had of the U.S. immediately before the invasion of Iraq has been improving, but favorable ratings remain well below prewar levels. The latest poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that in June, 45% of Germans had a positive attitude toward the U.S., up from 25% in March. That was more than 30 points below the 78% favorable rating before Bush’s election in 2000.

Statistics from the Pew survey were similar in countries whose governments supported the Iraq war. In Britain, the favorable rating rose from 48% in March to 70% in June, but that was lower than the 83% in 1999. Europe has often simultaneously admired and despised the United States. More than 220 years ago, one of Magdeburg’s most famous sons fought in the American Revolution. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was named inspector general of George Washington’s army and became an American citizen in 1783. People here often mention Von Steuben’s name -- and the city’s Nashville Saloon -- as antidotes to the current strained relations.

Sabine Will, who recently graduated high school in Magdeburg, said Europe’s displeasure with the U.S. cuts deeper than concern over Bush administration policies. Born when the city was part of Communist-controlled East Germany, Will said her family was taught that America was an unforgiving capitalist society of slums and corrupt policemen.

“When the Berlin Wall fell,” Will said, “the image of America went up in our eyes because we had never seen it. America was a new and promising place.

“But that ideal for us has slipped in the last two years,” she continued. “We thought America had high moral standards. We don’t anymore.”

Times staff writers Achrene Sicakyuz in Paris, Janet Stobart in London and Maria De Cristofaro in Rome contributed to this report.