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SUMMARY

�        France, Germany and other European countries President Bush alienated during his first four years in office are promising to work with the newly re-elected U-S leader.

�        Some European leaders expressed hope Bush would reach out to them in his second term.

�        Others gloomily forecast no major tack in White House policy and continued trans-Atlantic bickering.

WORLD MARKETS

�        Markets reacted with relief to the end of the long, contentious race and a likely Bush win.

�        European shares hit six-month highs.

�        U-S stocks also shot up.

AUSTRALIA

�        Australia�s conservative government was one of Bush�s staunchest allies and among the first to join the U-S-led military coalition.

�        The country�s foreign minister says Australia has �had a very good relationship� with the Bush administration for the last four years, and says he�s �sure we�ll be able to keep building on that over the next four.�

BRITAIN

�        Prime Minister Tony Blair renewed his pledge to work with

President Bush on the war on terrorism and to revitalize the Middle East peace process Wednesday, expressing hope that the U.S.  leader�s election victory would help mend a divided world.

�        Blair also called on Europe and the United States, whose relationship was strained over the Iraq war, to �build anew their alliance� in the wake of the electoral victory.

�        �President Bush�s re-election comes at a critical time. A world that is fractured, divided and uncertain must be brought together to fight this global terrorism in all its forms, and to recognize it will not be defeated by military might alone,� said Blair, at his Downing Street office.

�        He stressed the importance of bringing democracy to Iraq, as in Afghanistan, and to fighting poverty and injustice in Africa and elsewhere in the world.

�        British analysts say President Bush�s re-election poses a headache for Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose unswerving loyalty to the right-wing Republican has angered many Britons.

�        Blair is Bush�s closest overseas ally, but their friendship is deeply unpopular with left-wing sections of the governing Labour Party.

�        Many Britons believe he slavishly follows U-S foreign policy without exerting real influence and he is frequently mocked as Washington�s poodle.

FRANCE

�        French President Jacques Chirac, in a congratulatory letter, said he hoped Bush�s second term �will be the occasion for strengthening the French-American friendship.�

�We will be unable to find satisfying responses to the numerous challenges that confront us today without a close trans-Atlantic partnership,� wrote Chirac. He addressed the letter to �Dear George.�

�        France�s foreign minister says, �We have lots to do on current crises: Iraq, the Middle East, Iran, the challenges of the African continent, to rebuild, to renovate the trans-Atlantic relationship.�

GERMANY

�        German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who also clashed with

Bush over Iraq, wrote the president a congratulatory letter expressing �great expectations� for renewed cooperation.

�The world stands before great challenges at the beginning of your second term: international terrorism, the danger of weapons of mass destruction, regional crises�but also poverty, climate change and epidemics threaten our security and stability,� Schroeder wrote. �These challenges can only be mastered together.�

�        German officials say close cooperation between Europe and the

United States is essential, not only on Iraq and terrorism but on AIDS and the environment as well.

�        Ties were strained by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder�s vehement opposition to last year�s U-S-led war in Iraq, although the two governments have since moved to repair relations.

�        German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is pledging close cooperation with Bush. He says there are difficult challenges that �cannot be mastered without close cooperation� between Europe and the U-S.

�        Karsten Voigt, the German Foreign Ministry�s top official for relations with Washington, says he hopes Bush will seize the chance for �a new beginning� with Europe.

�        Voigt says he hopes Bush will �approach the Europeans� and

�sit down and talk about where we have common interests.�

INDONESIA

�        Muslim leader Syafii Maarif says a Bush win is �a catastrophe.�

�        Maarif says Bush has �made a mess of the world over the last four years.�

IRAQ

�        Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said his country will remain a friend of the United States no matter the outcome of the election.

�        Allawi said the U-S �freed us from a dictator, from a very long period of wars and agony.�

�        He said Iraq �will always be grateful to America for what it has done and what it continues to do.�

�        Many Iraqis are shrugging their shoulders with news that

President Bush has won re-election.

�        They don�t expect American policy toward their country to change much, no matter who won.

�        Iraqi newspaper vendor Jumaa al-Quraishi says, �Though it is up to the American people to decide, we opt for Bush more than Kerry because we already know his policy. He is the one who led the campaign to liberate Iraq... Therefore, we had better pin hopes on the old policy rather than a new policy of Kerry.�

ISRAEL

�        An adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Bush�s win is a victory for people of the Middle East and a �relentless fight against terrorism.�

�        Bush�s strong support for Sharon�s policies during his first term has endeared him to the Israeli government, and created friction with Palestinian officials.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

�        Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia says he hopes Bush�s

re-election will lead to stepped up U-S peace-making in the Middle

East.

�        The Palestinians have charged Bush with unfairly favoring

Israel.

�        They have expressed resentment for Bush�s decision to boycott veteran leader Yasser Arafat for allegedly supporting militant activities.

ITALY

�        Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said a Bush victory would help maintain close ties between the United States and Italy.

�        Berlusconi says Bush will �keep up that policy that gives the United States the role of promoting freedom in the world.�

JAPAN

�        Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, another U-S ally in Iraq, says Japan would have good relations with the U-S no matter who won the election.

RUSSIA

�        Before Kerry conceded the election, Russian President

Vladimir Putin said a Bush victory would mean the American people had not given in to terrorist threats.

�        Putin said that if Bush won, he would �feel happy that the

American people have not allowed themselves to be scared� and made a �reasonable� decision.

�        Putin said U-S-Russian relations have improved under Bush.

SPAIN

�        Another critic of the Iraq war, Spanish Prime Minister Jose

Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his government wants �a relationship of efficient, constructive cooperation with the U.S. government and with President Bush, respecting the ideas of each side.�

�        Zapatero, who angered Washington by withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq, stayed up most of the night to watch as Republican red crept across the U.S. electoral map.

SWEDEN

�        Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson predicts Bush will not revamp his policies.

�        Persson says he expects the sniping between Europe and the

United States to continue.

�        He says Sweden and Europe �will continue to criticize Bush the same way as earlier.� And he says he doesn�t believe Bush �will be more willing to listen to it.�

THAILAND

�        Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said his nation would remain a U-S ally regardless of the election outcome.