"Europe heaves a sigh of relief," writes Expresso columnist Daniel Oliveira in his blog on the website of the Lisbon weekly —

Obama's victory is not the answer to all of our problems. These need to be addressed in Europe and especially in Germany. But the victory of yet another proponent of financial savagery would have made a solution to this crisis even more unlikely. Europe, which Romney sees as a lair of socialists, has no reason to drink champagne. But it can at least breathe a sigh of relief.

In Berlin, Der Tagesspiegel recalls that four years ago Obama was celebrated on the Old Continent “as a messiah in the White House, as the most European, the most Western of the candidates, as ‘one of us’.” But, writes the daily, “four years and a string of broken promises later, it is clear that that was a misunderstanding.” Listing the disappointments on the environment and world peace, the paper concludes —

No, four years after Obamania, he appears to be the lesser evil. It’s up to him to rekindle the flame. Europe would do well to understand, and the sooner the better, that during his second term, Obama will focus less on how the world is faring and more on America’s national interest.

And indeed, according to To Vima, “the Germans are not entirely pleased with Obama’s reelection.” The Athens daily assures its readers that —

Obama disturbs them. He tried to put brakes on the Greek disaster, but he does not believe that austerity can save countries and economies. “ [...] Obama and Merkel, the United States and Europe under Germany, are entering a new phase in their relationship. [...] Obama has four years to decide whether the United States will prevent Europe from becoming a German colony, which Germany in a way has been trying to do for three years through the debt crisis. [...] With his hands now free, Obama is probably not going to sit and watch Germany ‘rake them all in.’ What will happen now will determine the most violent geopolitical dimension of the German project, which extends far beyond the borders of Europe itself.

On the Gazeta Wyborcza website, Zbigniew Lewicki explains that “Barack Obama is not the best choice for the world. He’s done nothing to disqualify him, but he hasn’t met the expectations that he aroused four years ago”. According to the professor of American Studies at Kardynał Stanisław Wyszyński University —

Europe has actually disappeared from Obama’s radar […] I don’t know why we are so cheerful. The president who has just been elected has been turning its back on Europe over the last few years […] I understand that bigger countries like France, Germany and Italy are happy that American president doesn’t interfere in their politics. But smaller countries like Poland, which depend on the EU and NATO for their security, have no reason to celebrate […] Russia will likely be delighted with Obama’s victory, because he understands its needs and aspirations.

In the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election, political scientist Vicente Palacio notes in the pages of El País that “Europeans are waking up slightly relieved by the victory of Obama.” The reason is that —

it offers a second chance to Europeans. During his first term, Obama encountered a Europe in decline, without sufficient strength of spirit to bring itself up to the same level, without leaders. Today it may be a bit easier for some European leaders, such as Hollande or Rajoy, to try to make the most of the re-elected president’s commitment to growth [...] The European federalists can forget for a moment the blindness, the footdragging and their mutual disloyalty, and dream that in Obama 2.0 they will find an ally to overcome the weakness of the EU. [...] On the morning after, one might dream that Obama will set Europe at the centre of his attention and turn into a champion of our political, fiscal and banking union. In the last phase of the campaign, growing employment figures in the United States mitigated the visible consequences of European austerity. But the fundamental error is still there, and it remains to be seen how Obama will react if this policy endangers the United States. In that case, the days of the austerity imposed by Merkel would be numbered.

“The next U.S. president will have to deal with four issues that cannot be avoided, at least not if he truly wishes, as has been promised at length and in all corners of the country, to jump-start domestic growth”, writes Il Sole 24 Ore’s US correspondent Mario Platero. One of those concerns Europe —