Europe in dark as US?sees the light

Europe’s papers report - dare I say rejoice in? - the successes of the Democratic party in the US midterm elections on Tuesday (7 November).

Libération, as usual, wins the clever headline award: "Democratic sanction for George W. Bush", it proclaims. The paper’s lead article points out that Bush "will have to cohabitate" - a nice reference to France’s previously deadlocked and divided government. Other papers also feature the big news of the week. "US voters in resounding call for change," proclaims the Financial Times. "Bush crushed in US mid-terms" gloats the Sun.

An analysis in the International Herald Tribune makes an important point most other publications miss: Europeans may be gleeful over the result of the US election but they could be in for a shock when it comes to the political fallout.

"Many Europeans hope that a decisive advance by Democrats...could usher in a new trans-Atlantic collaboration but European officials and analysts warn that Democratic policies on issues from trade to the Middle East might add tension to an already fraught relationship," he writes. "European Union officials worry that a victory by the Democrats, who traditionally have more protectionist instincts than Republicans, could make global negotiations even more intractable."

Meanwhile, in European news, a massive power blackout over the weekend has EU officials and power companies scrambling for answers.

Deutsche Welle reports on the political aftermath. "The European Union is conducting an autopsy on its energy sector in the wake of the embarrassing blackouts that left an estimated 10 million people around Europe without power on Saturday night," it writes. "Leading the calls for an investigation is EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs who said EU countries should do more to harmonise their energy policies in a bid to avoid the collapse of national grids at times of extreme demand."

British newspapers have also been preoccupied with the EU-level fight over the UK’s opt-out from limits on the amount of time people can work.

Writes the Independent: "Britain fought off a renewed effort to abolish its opt-out from the legislation which puts a ceiling on the working week. But the blockage also meant the end of an attempt to change the law governing junior hospital doctors, whose on-call time asleep now counts as working time, according to judgments in the European Court of Justice."

The FT looks at the international political implications of whether Britons are allowed to earn overtime pay. French President Jacques Chirac has made it a personal crusade to prevent them from doing so. "The issue has become enmeshed in pre-election French party politics," the paper points out, "with Mr Chirac aware his centre-right government will be attacked by Socialists for selling out to ‘ultra-liberal’ British demands if he allows the UK to keep the opt-out."

• Craig Winneker is a freelance writer based in Brussels.

Europe’s papers report - dare I say rejoice in? - the successes of the Democratic party in the US midterm elections on Tuesday (7 November).

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