LONDON -- The whirlwind tour of Europe and the Middle East by Condoleeza Rice, the new U.S. secretary of state, has contributed to a better atmosphere in relations between Europe and America.
She seems to have charmed and impressed not only her ministerial hosts but also hard-bitten journalists. No one was left in any doubt about her intellectual abilities, or her mastery of her briefs. She no doubt conveyed European concerns to U.S. President George W. Bush, who is following her to Europe.
She did not make any significant concessions on U.S. policies, but this could hardly be expected. European leaders, including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Germany and President Jacques Chirac in France, demonstrated, by the warmth with which they greeted her, their hope for a new start in relations with the United States.