LONDON -- From the moment that George W. Bush won the U.S. presidency, Europeans sensed that they were entering an new era. After eight years of generally good understanding with his predecessor, Bill Clinton, they now faced a man whose world view would not necessarily be in tune with theirs. As the president flew home at the weekend after a round of meetings across the continent, European leaders knew that their initial estimation was correct -- and that they would have to come to grips with a different trans-Atlantic relationship.
Ironically, given the differences between Washington and Moscow, the most upbeat part of the five-day Bush swing was at his meeting on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The session, on neutral ground in Slovenia, was very much in the nature of a get-to-know-you encounter, but both sides came out of the two hour of talks believing that the two men could do business.
With the 15 nations of the European Union earlier in the week, Bush had dispelled the popular European image of him as a cowboy with little understanding of issues or concern for the outside world. He was, by all accounts, charming and well informed on the major matters of discussion. But he was, equally, unyielding on the two main points of debate -- his administration's missile defense plans and his rejection of the Kyoto Protocol on the global environment.