Foreign Correspondent’s Take: No Vacation for US Election Campaigns

People around the world are watching the election campaign here closely.

Many want to know how US foreign policy might evolve, while others are simply fascinated by the campaign itself.

Willem Post, a US expert at the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in the Hague, says the contrast to elections back home in the Netherlands is incredible.

Post is just back from the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago, and says 600 youngsters are working away there from 7 a.m. until 9 or 10 at night.

Both sides, he says, are fighting for every vote.

By contrast, he notes, Dutch politicians – who face a general election on September 12th – are currently all away on summer vacation.

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Lisa Mullins: Mitt Romney’s recent trip to Israel and Europe was mostly about playing to an American audience but many people around the world are paying close attention to the American presidential race. Willem Post is a US expert at the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in the Hague. He’s just back from the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago. Post says there’s a dramatic difference between political campaigns here and in Europe.

Willem Post: It’s incredible almost, September 12 is the date for the all-important parliamentary election because we have also our problems in western Europe, so you would expect that our politicians in summertime also would fight for every vote but they are on summer vacation.

Mullins: They’re on vacation you said?

Post: Yeah, can you believe it?

Mullins: That’s tough to believe.

Post: Yeah, that’s touch to believe and they are now planning to campaign in the last three weeks before September 12 and I just came back from Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago.

Mullins: They weren’t on vacation, were they?

Post: No, I opened the door in the Prudential building in downtown Chicago and I saw 600 youngsters in their 20s and their 30s working from 7:00 in the morning ’til 9 or 10:00 in the evening for the Obama campaign. The same is true in Boston, maybe not 600 volunteers but Romney’s headquarters in Boston, you also have a lot of volunteers and staff people fighting for every vote. And another important difference is, and especially for the Obama campaign, how they use social media, Obama with his 17 million followers on Twitter and his 10+ million friends on Facebook. Romney also has millions of friends but not as much as Obama but it’s incredible.

Mullins: Are you saying that that’s different for candidates in the Netherlands where you are?

Post: I think in the whole of western Europe it’s still in the early stages to explore social media and once again you Americans, you set the trend. All the U.S. candidates are doing this and I think politicians everywhere, campaigners in the world, they will learn from how the Obama campaign is doing this.

Mullins: Or they could just Tweet about their vacations.

Post: Yeah, that’s maybe what we’re doing in the Netherlands.

Mullins: Thank you. Willem Post, a commentator on U.S. politics in the Netherlands. Nice to have you on the program.

Post: Thank you.

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