The Paris-Berlin fight over who would host Barack Obama looked like a custody battle, writes DEREK SCALLY
THE OBAMA show arrived in continental Europe yesterday, firing on all cylinders.
Before talks about the future of Nato, President Barack Obama was given a rapturous reception in Strasbourg, echoing the welcome in Berlin speech last July.
“Did you know your first name means ‘peach’ in Hungarian,” a woman asked the president. “No? Well, now you do.”
It was an amusing moment in a day that took the term “shuttle diplomacy” to a new level.
Germany was originally scheduled to host this Nato summit but turned it into a Franco-German affair in honour of the alliance’s 60th anniversary and France’s return to full membership. As the big day drew near, Chancellor Merkel watched in amusement and annoyance as, after offering France a finger, Nicolas Sarkozy tried to take her whole hand.
The Paris-Berlin fight over who would host the president was beginning to resemble a custody battle until the man himself proved there was enough Barack to go round.
In Strasbourg, Mr Obama gave a master class in ambiguous flattery, joking that Mr Sarkozy was “working on so many fronts that it’s hard to keep up”.
“He is continually showing initiative, imagination and creativity in trying to solve problems that have been there for a long time,” said Mr Obama.
After that, Mr Sarkozy sealed his membership of the Obama fan club with the oath: “I trust him. I trust his word. I trust his intelligence.” As the crowd dispersed, an unscientific poll established that Michelle Obama had won the first-lady fashion face-off against France’s Carla Bruni.
The president was looking a little jaded by the time he crossed the Rhine to meet Dr Merkel, but still alert enough to win her over with perfectly pitched compliments.
The German leader pursed her lips in pleasure as Mr Obama expressed wonder at her “wisdom, leadership and diligence”.
But it was the town hall meeting that was the day’s highlight. It ended with a question from an audience member if he ever regretted becoming president.
“There have been times . . . where you feel a lot of weight on your shoulders, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“It used to be when I came to Europe, I could just wander to a cafe, have some wine and watch people go by . . . now I’m in hotel rooms all the time with security around me. Losing that ability to just take a walk, that is something that is frustrating.”