Why don’t we vote for the US president?

According to a BBC research, Italy has the second-largest majority favouring the election of Barack Obama as US president and a large majority believes America’s relations with the rest of the world would improve under an Obama presidency. Italians are among the largest majorities that say US relations with the rest of the world would stay the same if John McCain were elected president.

• More than three in four (76%) in Italy would prefer to see Barack Obama elected US president, while just 12 per cent would prefer to see the election of John McCain.
• A majority (64%) says that the election of Barack Obama would improve US relations with the rest of the world, while 20% say they would stay the same and just 5 per cent feel they would become worse. In contrast, a slight majority (53%) says America’s relations with the rest of the world would be unchanged under a McCain presidency, with much fewer saying relations would improve (13%) or worsen (16%).
• Asked whether the election of Barack Obama, an African-American man, as US president would fundamentally change their perception of the US, Italians are divided, with 43 per cent saying it would change their perception, and 44 per cent saying it would not.

Although we are usually known for being politically immature, as a country, it looks like we have very clear – and very sound – opinions about the US presidency. Let’s hope for the better, i.e. Obama.

You can download the entire BBC research here.