Opinion | Columnists
Europe wrestles with the Obama effect
Many acknowledge the fact that promotion of ethnic minorities in the British political system is a long process
- By Ahmad Mustafa, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:15 November 25, 2008
- Image Credit: Illustration: Nino Jose Heredia/Gulf News
Recent opinion polls in Britain show that the gap between ruling Labour government and Conservative (Tory) opposition is narrowing. The quick explanation is that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is reclaiming some credibility through his handling of the current financial and economic crisis.
But there is another factor: the election of Barack Obama as the next American President. Oddly, Obama's election means change which should help Tories gain more popularity against incumbent Labour.
There is a sense here in the UK that Brown's Labour government might get on well with Obama's Democratic administration in the US when compared to a Tory one. That might not be a decisive factor in the opinion poll and no more than an intellectual luxury. But Obama's effect of change might also have helped Labour with some of its achievements.
When the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK, Trevor Phillips, said that Britain won't have a black leader because of institutional racism, he stirred a heated debate.
Reactions came from all parts of the political spectrum in the country, and every political party tried to say that change is already there, referring to the number of black politicians or those from ethnic minorities in its ranks. Here Labour was more successful than the Tories, due to the number of MPs of ethnic minority background on its benches in parliament.
Reactions to the black leader's statement were varied but not strong enough to deny Phillips' statement. Nevertheless, many acknowledged the fact that promotion of ethnic minorities in the British political system is a long process. Thus, witnessing a change like that in America might not be in our lifetime. It is time for an honest debate about the possibility of a black leader in the UK and the extent of 'institutional racism'.
The Obama effect went further across the Atlantic to mainland Europe, but in a different way. A group of French intellectuals, led by France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy supported the issuing of a manifesto calling for more representation of ethnic minorities in public life. The petition, published in the French daily newspaper, Journal du Dimanche, was titled "Oui, nous pouvons!" - the French translation of Obama's campaign slogan "Yes We Can".
The document was signed by people from the left and right of the political spectrum and ethnic minorities. It calls on employers to hire more minorities and urges the government to fight racism and improve schools in ethnically mixed neighbourhoods.
The British might think of themselves as closer to the Americans than mainland Europeans, and some in the establishment still see America as an offshoot of traditional Imperial Great Britain. But the French are always looking to America with envy. Hypocritical French elite find it difficult to swallow that the values of French Revolution are being adopted and applied elsewhere, so the manifesto was a try to reclaim some lost French clout.
Reclaiming intellectual leadership, and championing liberty and equality, might not be achieved by manifestos or petitions in newspapers. It is practical actions that prove that nations are genuine in their values and principles. Yes, the French voted for a son of a Hungarian immigrant to be President - but yet, he is European still. The effect of Obama election on Europe might not stop at the two sides of the Channel.
Anyway, the debate about change is not abating in Europe and elsewhere in the world, though one must admit that there is a big difference between the American society and European societies. America is a new country, and many people there are ethnic minorities in one way or another.
African-Americans were part of the society - though oppressed or denied rights on the basis of racism at the beginning - like other migrants to the new country. So the idea of a melting-pot in America helped the process of socio-economic and political mobility.
The case is different in Europe, where most European societies were already "melted" before they witnessed waves of immigration from abroad. Though some ethnic minorities in European countries are old enough to now have a third or fourth generation, they were not as integrated as those in America. So the process of mobility is not the same, but debating the issue in a civilised way is a very encouraging and positive sign.
Dr Ahmad Mustafa is a London-based Arab writer.
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