American Politics: The World View
By Abigail Haworth
SWEDEN
Jill Mellin-Humphries, 41, manager
“I hope the next U.S. president will do more for American women — issues like maternity leave are far behind the rest of the Western world. I also feel sorry for Americans who have to work 12-hour days to afford basic things like health care. We pay high taxes in Sweden, but we have more quality time to spend with our families and much less poverty in our society.”
CHINA
Lijia Zhang, 43, journalist
“I hope the new president will try to improve relations between China and the U.S. America has a patronizing attitude toward us. For example, many people felt the recent recall of millions of Chinese toys was alarmist and insulting and very bad for trade relations. China and America are both superpowers who are increasingly dependent on each other, so it’s important to get along.”
GERMANY
Denise Sumpf, 31, economist
“In Germany, we appreciate strong government, but we also think it is important to cooperate with other countries. I hope the next administration will take a less confrontational approach than the current one. I don’t think it matters whether a man or woman is elected. No one here cares about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s gender because she just gets on with the job.”
post a comment