OBAMA FEVER has hit Cypriot press, as daily papers across the island are spreading the news that Obama will change the world.
“We have a dream”, was Politis’ front page on Wednesday with pictures of Obama and Martin Luther King “Forty years have passed since Martin Luther King was assassinated in the US in his struggle to fight racism. American citizens took the great big leap, Barack Obama is the first black president of the country who came to bring –as he promised – change. Obama’s victory creates the hope that the world can go forward, close old wounds and look at the future with optimism. It is in the hands of the new president not to contradict the expectations,” the paper wrote.
Politis continued their Obama tribute yesterday with the front page titled “Global Expectations”, saying that the whole world was celebrating along with the Americans. “The first statements of foreign leaders are turning Obama into an international personality with a lot of weight on his shoulders, as the world depends on him for a better future.”
In its editorial, the daily points out that “The Obama victory was celebrated in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey for their own different reasons. If they all agree on something it is that Bush did no good for any of the three countries”
“The Planet hopes,” was Phileleftheros’ front page, along with a photograph of Obama and his family. “He is the American President with the biggest support around the globe, and the one who brought hope to the planet. All the people are expecting him to solve a mountain of problems, from the environment to economy and from wars to local tensions,” the daily wrote yesterday.
Phileleftheros spoke to members of the Greek lobby in the US, who underlined that a new, friendly climate of solidarity, respect and international justice is prevailing, but warned not to get carried away. “We shouldn’t expect drastic changes, nor differentiations in US foreign policy,” Nick Larigakis, Executive Director of the Hellenic Institute told the paper.
“Obama and Biden have expressed a positive attitude towards us, such as in the issue of ending Turkish occupation in Cyprus, but we, as Greek-American society have to make the best out of this opportunity that is given to us,” Larigakis added.
“A giant step for humanity” was Alithia’s front-page headline yesterday: “Fifty years ago a black person in the South couldn’t sit in the front seats of a bus. Today, a first generation African American who knows his village in Kenya, who speaks to his grandma in Africa, son of an immigrant, steps in the White House to govern the United States of America. And from there, the planet.”
The right-wing daily Machi’s front page read: “He wrote History”.
“American voters wrote history sending Barack Obama to the White House as the first African-American president of the USA. Sixty-six per cent of American voters participated in the presidential elections, marking a participation record since 1908. In 1960, the percentage of voters for John F. Kennedy’s election reached 63.1 per cent.”
