THE U.S. ELECTION IN DENMARK

If it were up to the Danes, then Barack Obama would be a shoo-in for re-election. A poll of the country's elected politicians showed a crushing 86% supporting the incumbent, while only a handful said that they would support Mitt Romney.

Politics in nearly all European countries are to the left of those in America, so Democrats are nearly always more popular than Republicans. "Liberal" in the U.S. means close to communist, whereas it would be centrist, or even to the right, in Europe. An active role for Government is taken as a given here; in the United States, many people think that the Federal Government should have no role at all. Ron Paul, who ran in the Republican primaries, seriously thinks that the Federal Reserve should be abolished; in Europe, a policy advocating the abolition of the central bank would be considered nutty, and its promoter a nut.

So, if Mitt Romney wins on Tuesday, would Europe fall into a collective depression? Probably not. American presidents are less important than they were, partly because the U.S. is (relatively) weaker in the world, but mainly because it is increasingly turning its attention to the populous and fast-growing nations in the Pacific. Britain continues to bang on about its special relationship with the U.S. President; only the Brits continue to believe it is true. America still has influence, and no European leader would ignore the chance of a visit, either way. But the fact of the matter is that U.S. policy towards Europe will be pretty much the same, whoever wins in two days' time.

Walter Blotscher