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Now that (1) George Bush is exiting the presidency and (2) he is wildly unpopular in his own country, international leaders are willing to criticize him more openly. And not only are they willing to criticize him, they are willing to do so on the record and in their country’s most famous newspaper.

On the eve of President Bush’s arrival in Germany, German leaders are taking Bush to the woodshed in Der Spiegel. Witness:

Hans-Ulrich Klose, foreign policy expert for the center-left Social Democrats and deputy chairman of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said: “One really can’t say George W. Bush made the world a better place. On the contrary: His actions played a big part in damaging America’s image around the world.”

Guido Westerwelle, the head of the business-friendly Free Democratic Party, said: “The Bush era was not a good one — neither for America nor for those who see themselves as friends of America.” … The Iraq war weakened the UN, he said, adding that the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was a “disgrace to all the values that America, of all countries, stands for.”

Jürgen Trittin, a senior member of the opposition Green Party, said Bush “definitely made the world worse.”

As recent polling shows, these leaders are just reflecting the sentiment of their constituents.