Europeans love Clinton -- if Wall Street doesn't sour

PARIS -- Just as Ronald Reagan was a hero to conservatives everywhere, Bill Clinton has become an icon for left-of-center politicians in Europe.

Despite the president's personal woes, political leaders over here have not hesitated to attach themselves to his banner, endorsing the Clinton administration's brand of market economics and social enlightenment.

France's Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who heads Europe's most dogmatic socialist party, came close to declaring himself a Clinton disciple a few weeks ago. He acknowledged that the French could learn a lot from Clinton's flexible policies which, he said, had brought America unmatched prosperity. No French leader had ever gone that far in praising any U.S. leader.

Gerhard Schroeder, the German Social Democrats' candidate to replace conservative Helmut Kohl as chancellor in elections next month, declared last week in Washington that he would copy many Clintonian policies if elected in order to stimulate his country's spotty economy and bring down high unemployment. For a German politician to confess that in the realm of economics Germany has much to learn from anyone else is something of a first.

Italy's left-of-center Prime Minister Romano Prodi is also a frank admirer of Clinton's record. And British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who heads a Labor Party government, is a charter member of the president's fan club abroad. His desire to emulate Clinton is so open that it embarrasses some of his more left-leaning government colleagues.

Yet according to some analysts, all this Clinton mania may not be as much a tribute to his statesman-like qualities as it is simply to the fact that, up to now, he has been a winner.

Unlike Reagan, these analysts insist, Clinton doesn't arouse respect for his political integrity or genuine personal affection. He is applauded mainly for his political savvy and the good times he has presided over.

"All politicians want to discover the secret of success of other politicians," analyst Georges Suffert observed in the Paris daily Le Figaro. "Clinton has been the most successful politician of our times. There is nothing surprising about the admiration he has attracted from his peers. They have decided that if it works for him, it will work for them."

But Clinton's foreign bandwagon could quickly detach itself from him if he runs into serious difficulties at home, Suffert warned. The danger isn't the Monica Lewinsky affair but a sudden reversal of U.S. economic fortunes sparked by a severe fall on Wall Street, he said.

"The (European) politicians who laud him are not concerned about Clinton's personal problems, which they think he will survive in any case," he added. "But they will swiftly distance themselves from him if America's economy turns sour. They won't wish to be regarded as Clintonians then."

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