Der Spiegel reviews German coverage of the midterm elections in today's edition, and unsurprisingly, notes that the Democrats have a big rooting section -- Europe. The intelligentsia on the Continent, or at least in Germany, yearn for Democratic control of Congress:

Never underestimate the "legendary effectiveness of Karl Rove", worries the left-wing Die Tageszeitung, still shell-shocked from George W. Bush's re-election in 2004. "If (the Democrats) can't manage to win at least the House of Representatives this time, then nothing can help them." ...

What the Democrats might do with control of Congress is something on the mind of center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, as well -- and the paper cautions the party to wield its power thoughtfully. Two years from now, when the Americans go to the polls again and look at what Democrats have done with their mandate, their typical refrain of "we wanted to but couldn't" will not be good enough. ...

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung makes little effort to downplay the US Midterm elections, referring to Tuesday as "World Voting Day." Europeans so desperately want the Democrats to win -- and the image of "Bush as the enemy" has become so deeply ingrained in the European conscience -- that they are starting to believe a real shift in power is happening. Not so fast, writes the daily. "Whether this is actually the end of Republican dominance will only be seen in two years," when Democrats will have to answer for their time in power.

There's nothing wrong with our friends in Europe expressing their opinions on American politics. We often do the same thing here. However, it seems rather telling that the same people who have cocooned themselves into a crumbling nanny-state economy want the Democrats to come to power in order to have more company. It's just another reminder of the likely direction that a Democratic Congress will take, and another point of consideration for voters today.

UPDATE: Der Spiegel missed the Brussels Journal, in which Paul Belien describes to Europe what Pelosi's America will resemble -- and why Europe should oppose it:

Americans can already see what their country’s future will be if they vote for Pelosi and her band. They only need to watch Europe. That is what America will be like 20 years from now if the Liberals succeed in turning the U.S. into a European-style welfare state. The latter is the cause of all Europe’s problems. It has led to secularization, because people who are catered for from the cradle to the grave no longer need God. It has led to the immigration debacle, because Europe has attracted welfare immigrants who only come for the benefits and not to contribute to the host country’s wealth creation. It has led to the loss of the citizens’ ability to care for themselves, because they expect everything from the state.

However, the current American elections are relevant for Europe, too. If they lead to the American withdrawal from Iraq, Europe will face a widespread intifada. The withdrawal will be perceived as a defeat of the West and the Muslim “youths” in Europe’s cities will become even more arrogant. They utterly despise the Europeans, whom they perceive (not entirely without reason) to be men dressed up as ballerinas, and they hate America because it fights back. In a world ruled by men who only understand the language of power it is better to be hated than despised. If America withdraws the Islamist fanatics will despise America for it. They will take this as a sign that the West has been defeated and that the world is theirs.

In this scenario Europe has more to lose than America. That makes it all the more surprising that Europe’s politicians refuse to support America. They seem to be hoping that the Muslims, although they despise the Europeans, will leave them alone so they can carry on paying the taxes that the immigrants live off. I fear it will not turn out this way. Moreover, the funds are running dry because the welfare state hampers wealth creation.

Europe used to remember that their welfare state came from the luxury of allowing America and the Anglosphere to defend Western civilization. As Belien warns, they may have to learn that lesson again the hard way. (h/t: CQ commenter dnmore)

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