Now that the $6 billion clown show that is U.S. presidential politics - in Europe’s eyes, at least - is over, Europeans breathe a sigh of relief, then look anxiously to the future. Mitt Romney had not made clear what his foreign policy for Europe would entail, and so the majority of Europeans hoped for an Obama victory on Tuesday night.

Across Europe, relief, praise and support for Obama’s reelection resonated in the press. The politically centered French daily, Le Monde’s headline read, “Barack Obama is in a strong position” and a cover piece read “le pire n’as pas eu lieu,” which translates to, “the worst did not come to pass.” The overall sentiment was that Obama’s reelection was a triumph for American democracy. This was mirrored to varying degrees by national dailies in the UK, Germany and Italy. The Telegraph, The Times, and The Guardian all positively viewed Obama’s reelection, since they had expressed concern with the destructive role of the Tea Party in the American right.

Concern for the future loomed in the press across the pond. The Times wrote, “History is watching… so he’d better get a move on.” The right wing French newspaper Le Figaro, not enthusiastic about Mitt Romney, not dazzled by Obama, reported on the way a pragmatic Obama will handle the challenges facing the U.S. economy and speculated on how interventionist “Obama II” will be in Europe. Both Le Monde and Le Figaro, however, agreed that Obama’s victory was in large part thanks to the inclusive nature of the Democratic Party in respect to the GOP. One headline in The Telegraph read, “Republicans descend into civil war.” The polarized nature of U.S. politics since the 2010 midterm elections certainly has left Europe concerned over how effective Obama can be and tempered the reactions to his reelection.

In Germany and Italy, both advocates of austerity measures in Europe, the press reaction focused much more on the state of the world economy. Spiegel, a German daily, in an article entitled “What Germany Expects from Obama,” noted that Europe is no longer America’s number one foreign policy concern and that the issue of the U.S. national debt is a troubling one. Another piece called Obama’s victory “lackluster.” Italy’s daily, Corriere Della Sera, mirrored this view, calling it a victory “hanging on a thread of wool” and putting the national debt as the first item on the president’s agenda.

Europe trusts Obama, but is unsure how the president will tackle the enormous challenges he faces in fixing the U.S. economy and the national debt. However, the European left and center praised Obama and his technocratic approach to policy-making, and the European right, while not totally enamored by the president, gave him a vote of confidence. The Economist’s unprecedented endorsement of the president demonstrated this attitude. Even Europe's fiscal conservatives have lost faith in the American right, because the Republican Party is a non-inclusive ghost of the grand old party it once was.