UNITED STATES:FROM A castle in Slovenia to one in Windsor, from the Élysée Palace to the Vatican, US president George W Bush races through Europe this week to bid farewell to traditional allies whose loyalty has been tested as seldom before during the past eight years.
With Europe fascinated by the unstoppable rise of Barack Obama - "a very beautiful image of America," according to a senior French politician - Mr Bush will get short shrift from pro-American European leaders who are keen to put the strains behind them and look forward to next year's new US administration, whether Mr Obama beats John McCain or not.
Mr Bush will be hosted by UK prime minister Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel of Germany, Silvio Berlusconi of Italy and Nicolas Sarkozy of France - all solidly pro-American, unlike the hostile partnership of Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac that bedevilled Mr Bush's first term.
While the leaders will be generous and polite towards a US president who has plumbed unprecedented depths of unpopularity in Europe as well as in the US, there is no doubt that the overall mood will be one of good riddance.
The first important business for Mr Bush is a summit tomorrow in Slovenia with EU leaders, where the two sides will debate security measures the Americans are introducing for all travellers to the US from Europe, seen as draconian by many in Brussels.
- (Guardian service)