Obamas’ Visit Eases Doubts of the Czechs

April 6, 2009

Obamas’ Visit Eases Doubts of the Czechs

By DAN BILEFSKY and HELENE COOPER

PRAGUE — The Czechs were skeptical. Some feared that the visit by President Obama less than two weeks after their government collapsed would bring out all the neuroses of their young democracy. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek had soured the mood by calling Mr. Obama’s economic policies “a way to hell.” Obama-mania seemed a foreign delusion.

That was until Sunday, when Mr. Obama addressed some 20,000 people in front of the imposing Prague Castle.

He spoke of the Velvet Revolution, which helped overthrow decades of Communism here in 1989, calling that moment of national pride “Sametova revoluce” in flawless Czech.

He invoked the memory of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, the revered father of the first Czechoslovak state. Mr. Masaryk, the president noted, had spent time in his own hometown, Chicago.

The skepticism began to melt away. Even the younger Czechs, who had not grown up under Communism and were less instinctively pro-American than their parents, were transfixed.

Irena Kalhousova, 30, a lecturer in international relations, who woke up at 4 a.m. to make sure she could get a glimpse of Mr. Obama, said she had been struck by the contrast between the detached haughtiness of the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, 67, and the youthful vigor of Mr. Obama, who she said radiated “positive energy.”

“Our President Klaus looks bored, old and angry, while Mr. Obama is young, energetic and inspiring,” she said.

Later in the day, Mr. Obama met former President Vaclav Havel, one of Eastern Europe’s most celebrated former dissidents, whose inclusive brand of politics Mr. Obama has emulated. Aides said Mr. Havel warned Mr. Obama of the perils of limitless hope being projected onto a leader, noting that disappointment could boil over into anger. Mr. Obama smiled and said he was becoming acutely aware of that possibility.

The country also fell under the charms of Michelle Obama, with many Czechs saying her easy glamour and warm relationship with the president was a marked contrast to the more austere role of political spouse here. The first lady toured Prague’s Jewish Quarter, including the Old Jewish Cemetery, where she followed the tradition of depositing a wish on a small piece of folded paper near the grave of the legendary 16th-century rabbi Yehudah Loew.

She also stopped at the Pinkas Synagogue, inscribed inside with the names of Holocaust victims.

“This was a wonderful visit,” she said. “We’ll be back.”

Jan Krcmar contributed reporting.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/world/europe/06czech.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print

Personal comment:

The foreign policy of the United States of America is ofcourse a enormous operation. They are not only involved in trade. They are also active in almost every country in the world whether it is for help, war or for monitoring and advicing other nations.

To me the article above is also a form of foreign policy. A speach has in principle nothing to do with direct influence in a country. However, a speach like the one Obama has given in Prague seems to me as a way to win souls. To gain support form the locals or in this case the Czech people.

I remember thats months (maybe even a year) ago Obama gave a speech in Berlin. This speech was even for a larger audience and ofcourse a bit more controversial. To mo it seems to be some kind of 'propaganda' that is working perfectly. As you canr ead in the article. People admire Obama and his wife for who they are, and they do gain a lot of support for the USA by doing so.