World reaction to the Iraq election

NBC dispatches from across the globe:

• Jan 31, 2005 | Rome | 11:08 a.m. ET

Berlusconi has "I-told- you-so" message for naysayers

Stephen Weeke

The surprising turnout in Iraq’s election is echoing throughout the Italian media as a great success for all those Iraqis who had the courage to risk their lives to cast their ballots. But the levels of enthusiasm still reflect party lines.

The center-right government led by billionaire media magnate Silvio Berlusconi remains one of the Bush administration’s biggest cheerleaders, and is relishing its role as the third-largest military presence in Iraq in the wake of what appears to be a victory for the spread of democracy. The prime minister said, “This election was a success also thanks to us.”

Berlusconi has always been adept at spinning external events into domestic capital and this time is no exception. He took to the airwaves with a litany of “I-told-you-so’s” targeted at the center-left coalition that has been consistently bashing his position on Iraq and his unquestioning support of Bush policies.

Meanwhile the country’s center-left opposition parties had to swallow their pride and admit, albeit grudgingly in some cases, that the electoral swell was a positive event for Iraq and the region, but they tempered any compliments with “let’s-wait-and-see” warnings.

But the most caustic criticism came from the extreme left. A spokesman for the Partito dei Comunisti Italiani said, “These elections are about as real as Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction."

Jan 31, 2005 | London | 10:45 a.m. ET

Biggest loss in war tempers British feelings of success

Mark Potter

Feelings of accomplishment in Great Britain about the Iraqi elections were tempered by sorrow over the biggest loss of British lives since the start of the war.

Hours after the polls closed in Iraq, a British C-13- transport plane crashed north of Baghdad, killing 10 British troops.

An Iraqi militant group took credit for downing the plane, although the veracity of the claim could not immediately be verified.

A large headline in The Sun newspaper said, "They Died For Freedom."

FREE VIDEO More reaction Jan. 31: NBC’s Mark Potter has reaction from Great Britain to the vote as well as to the apparent shooting down of a British cargo plane in Iraq. MSNBC

At a news conference, British Prime Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to the victims, and extended his condolences to their families. "They can be proud of what their loved ones accomplished," he said. "This country and the wider world will never forget them."

Speaking of the Iraqi election, itself, Blair said it had dealt "a blow to the heart of global terrorism."

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw told a radio interviewer, "What yesterday shows is that democracy is a value which flows in the veins of every citizen of the world, including those poor people in Iraq who have been denied that opportunity for such a long time."

In a country where public support for the war has steadily declined to less than 40 percent, the British newspapers reflected the diverse opinions.

An editorial in The Guardian warned against celebrating a victory in Iraq too fast, arguing, "it would be foolish to draw definitive conclusions only a few hours after the polls closed." 

But, the more conservative newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, presented its lead editorial under the headline, "Iraq confounds the profits of doom."

The newspaper criticized what it called "left-wing commentators" for focusing too much on difficulties in Iraq. "Yesterday's high turnout, in defiance of the gunmen, should be celebrated," the paper said.

At the Wembley Conference Center near London, where thousands of Iraqi immigrants cast their ballots in the Iraq election, there was very little diversity of opinion.

Most everyone there widely praised the elections, and offered strong support for Prime Minister Blair, President Bush and the U.S.-led invasion.

Mohammad Alshakrey, and his wife Suzan Tofik, proudly showed off the forefingers they had dipped in purple ink, a required security measure before voting.

Watching a group of Kurdish men celebrating the day with music and dancing, Alshakrey said, "I hope we move forward step by step toward democracy and happiness for all Iraqi people."

Niga Nawroly, a Kurdish immigrant, arrived to cast her vote wearing a bright purple outfit. "It's a big day," she said. "We could never do this before, and this was just a dream. And now it's come true."

Echoing the same thought, Iraqi-immigrant Halat Hamawandi said, "I feel something new happened in my life. I have dreamed a long time ago to vote."

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