Obama's re-election can help European stability

ROME - Barack Obama's re-election to the presidency of the United States provides an opportunity for Europe's stability in the global scenario, Italian analysts said on Thursday.

The outcome of the US elections was hailed with great satisfaction by Italian governors and opinion makers. "But this was not a simple case of jumping on the bandwagon," a political analysts of leading financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Stefano Folli, said.

According to Folli, in light of the precipice represented by the deficit and debt, Obama's second mandate is expected to be "a bumpy road, as the markets have promptly made clear."

"But this is yet another reason for Italy to feel close to the reconfirmed leader," as the United States and Europe know they "either stand together or fall together," he noted.

"It is not precisely a partnership, like the pre-existing one between the proud world power the United States and a Europe that was recovering from the catastrophes caused by the war. It is, nonetheless, a bet on the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area, and on the solidity of the common currency," Folli said.

Therefore, he added, Obama continues to be a precious ally for Europeans, especially those countries, including Italy, that need time to tackle their structural problems and reduce the weight of their deficit.

In his view, Italy must play an important role in the White House's European strategy, "considering that the hawks it has to deal with are in Berlin."

Folli added there is no reason to think that things will change in the immediate future.

"Rather, the German election in September 2013 gives more importance to the relationship that President Napolitano and Premier Monti have been able to edify with Obama," he said.

Echoing his words, Alberto Forchielli, managing partner at Mandarin Capital Partners and president of the think tank Osservatorio Asia, said that dialogue between the United States and Europe is expected to continue on solid basis.

In fact, as "the American Republicans have shown very extreme in their views, it is a matter of fact that the re-election of the Democratic president was the best possible outcome not only for Europe, but for the entire world," he said.

But at the same time, Forchielli added, it is important that Europe works harder to achieve the political integration necessary for its stability at the global level.

Now more than ever, cohesion between member states of the single currency union is a fundamental objective, especially as "all international strategic interests have moved towards the Pacific Ocean," he noted.

Though saluting the re-election of Obama as the best possible outcome, Alessandro Politi, political and strategic analyst at Bologna-based Nomisma research institute, agreed with Forchielli that Europe's future will especially depend on whether the region is able to handle the dialogue with the United States in a systemic way instead of through the different policies of its member states.

"We need to stop losing time on personal interests. Obama's re-election gives Europe one more opportunity to help itself and to fix the crisis, but the single currency region has to grasp it with firmer belief," Politi said.