>> hi, everyone. welcome to the "journal" coming to you live from dw in berlin. the u.s. president defies a fragile economy and high unemployment to win the election, telling the american people the best is yet to come. >> appeals from angela merkel to her european partners -- an end to the eurozone debt crisis will require more unity. >> and a parliamentary vote on another round of austerity cuts in greece.

>> thanks for joining us. barack obama has won his second term in office as president of the united states, but his celebrations will be short-lived as the multitude of urgent issues on his desk draws him back to work without delay. >> the first order of business will be to negotiate a new budget deal in congress by the end of the year. otherwise, and harsh plan of spending cuts and tax increases are due to go into effect. we will hear more about that later on in the show, but first, a look back at how things play out on election night in the u.s. >> his face said it all -- president barack obama had to fight hard to keep his job in a tough race against his republican challenger, but once the result was clear, his first message to the american people was one of unity. >> it does not matter who you

are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. it does not matter weather you are black or white or hispanic or asian or native american or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in america. [applause] these -- >> these are the kinds of words that inspired his voters. celebrations went on through the night. obama's supporters could not contain their joy. what made the difference was that obama won in the most populous states and managed to secure a greater margin than expected in the swing states. the the final tallies are not yet in, the world has already congratulated him on his victory, but it was a bitter disappointment for the republicans. they have to wait four more years for their next shot at the white house. mitt romney took some time to

take in the results, but he was gallant in defeat. >> this is a time of great challenges for america, and i pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation. >> obama supporters chanted and danced with joy, pinning their hopes and dreams on four more years of the president. it is now up to him not to disappoint them. >> our washington bureau chief joins us now. obama stays in the white house. republicans retain the house of representatives. democrats maintain their majority in the senate. basically, we are seeing the same cast of characters. what do you think will be different this time around? >> that depends very much weather you are an optimist or a pessimist. at the end of this year, there is this fiscal cliff. president obama has to solve it.

austerity measures, a huge increase of taxes -- all this is going to happen if democrats and republicans do not come together, so i can offer three scenarios -- the first would be that there is no willingness of compromise, that they will just take the can down the road. it would be disaster for the u.s. and the rest of the world. second scenario -- a new willingness of compromise and coming together, and i do not think this is likely to happen, so there is scenario 3, that everybody has to give up something. this would mean, for example, for democrats that they will have to accept that there will be strong cuts in entitlements -- health care, for example. it would mean for republicans that they have to agree on higher taxes for the wealthy, for example. are they able to do all that by the end of this year? i do not think so, so i think

they will buy time, and they will say this congress right now will agree on a couple of things but cannot solve all the problems until the end of the year, so they will be part of the problem for the next congress, and it will come together in january, february next year. >> let's talk about cabinet changes. hillary clinton is on her way out. who else? >> well, there are several names that the people say may become secretary of state. the first of course is senator kerry. he is someone who has been in this business for many years. he travels a lot. he would be a great secretary of state. the other name dimension is the american ambassador at the united nations. she makes many mistakes, and there is another idea coming up

in washington, that president obama might ask a republican to take over. >> we have to leave it there for now, but we thank you for that update for us from washington. >> let's look at international reaction, and government leaders from around the world have been congratulating barack obama on his reelection, allies and international rivals alike agree that the outcome of the presidential vote, showing thinly veiled relief that they would not be facing new adversarial relations promised by mitt romney. >> in china, hu jintao congratulated obama on a partnership based a mutual respect, and for his part, vladimir putin spoke of the election as a positive step. >> obama supporters celebrated his victory in moscow. a few russians joined american expatriate's to celebrate obama's second term, delighted at the news from the other side of the atlantic. >> mitt romney always spoke of

russia in negative terms. of course i did not like that. that is why i was rooting for obama to win. >> obama always said he did not want another cold war, and that is a huge positive for the relationship between the u.s. and russia. the reaction from the kremlin was less enthusiastic. after putin was reelected, several meetings were scheduled and then canceled until he finally met with obama this summer. moscow was struggling to maintain its status as a world power, and that has made for confrontation with washington on a number of issues, from the war in syria to missile defense in europe. >> here, that ties are viewed as the norm, but that is not normal. it does damage. it prevents russia from fulfilling important tasks, especially the long-overdue process of modernization. >> right now, putin is keeping tight control on things at

home, and he uses his opposition to america to rally the masses behind him. >> for more on what the president's reelection means for u.s. foreign policy, we are joined in the studio by markets of the swp german institute for international and security affairs here in berlin. are we likely to see a second attempt at a reset of relations with moscow? >> a couple of months ago, the u.s. president indicated through russian counterparts that after the election, he would have more flexibility -- the u.s. president indicated to his russian counterparts. i think there is more room for political initiatives. i think the cooperation will remain limited, given the domestic situation in russia. >> let me ask you -- the obama

administration during its first four years shifted emphasis of u.s. policy to the asia-pacific. that reduced the significance of europe's importance. do you think we will see the same? >> absolutely. given the inward looking mode of u.s. society, given the financial constraints of the u.s., there is no alternative. the crucial question is -- will the europeans deliver? can they deliver in terms of financial contributions to international crisis management? will they deliver in terms of cooperation? it is no surprise that countries are wondering if the european union can take over from nato. it will not become a global player in terms of international security, but it needs a player for the periphery of the european union. >> looking at current conflicts

around the world in syria, iran is an issue, afghanistan -- what you think the biggest challenge for president obama will be in his second term? >> first, the iranian nuclear program. second, the future of afghanistan. may be connected to the role of pakistan. may be the rise of china, the current tensions in southeast asia, and finally, the implications of the european financial crisis on the international financial system and, therefore, the u.s. >> we thank you very much for joining us today. >> back here in berlin, angela merkel said she looked forward to working side-by-side as friends and allies with barack obama. here is more on reaction in germany. >> chancellor merkel was among the first to congratulate president obama.

she invited him to berlin and underscored her hopes for the future. >> we know each other well, and i look forward to working together to strengthen the trans-atlantic relationship between germany and the united states. >> germany's economics minister was another well-wisher. >> the huge interest among germans in the u.s. election shows how important america is for germany. that is why in the name of my party, the free democrats, i would like to warmly congratulate president obama on his reelection. >> election parties continued into the night in germany. across the political spectrum, the majority of germans and their elected deputies had hoped that obama would return to the white house. >> for us as europeans, it is

especially important that americans have chosen a multilateral foreign and security policy, and a policy that focuses on alliances and negotiations. >> outside the american embassy, people welcomed the idea of four more years of president obama. >> i think he needs more time to accomplish all that he promised. hopefully he will not meet so much resistance this time. >> his policies are simply more convincing, and they are better for germany. >> he has done some good things over the past few years. that is why i am happy he will continue as president. >> the german president also sent his congratulations, saying his country and the u.s. shared the same values and bar of common responsibility in world affairs. >> and the markets, european shares suffered their steepest declines in wednesday's trading session. >> barack obama is reelected -- good news for the people here

and the financial markets. continuity. people know what they are getting. still, they can see he has tremendous task ahead. the next one which needs to be addressed quickly is avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. there will be massive spending cuts and tax hikes if he does not reach a compromise with congress. if he does not reach that, the u.s. could fall into recession with worldwide repercussions, but what really sent share prices tumbling was news from brussels. the eu commission published a report that was very pessimistic about growth prospects in the eurozone, and it saw tremendous challenges ahead for deficit reduction in countries even like france. >> we say in frankfurt for a closer look at the numbers. the dax headed down by nearly 2%. euro stoxx 50 down by even more. across the atlantic, the down who -- the dow down, and the euro trading at a dollar of $

1.2766. a look at the anti-as 30 protests in greece, including an update from our correspondent in athens -- a look at the anti- austerity protests in greece. >> but first, turkey ramping of defense against its neighbor syria. the government says it is discussing with nato the possible deployment of patriot missiles designed to combat both enemy aircraft and missiles, and it would create a kind of no-fly zone here at the turkish border. >> pr has voted in favor of becoming the 51st u.s. state -- puerto rico. a majority of the population on the island approved the referendum. it is currently a self-governing u.s. territory. the move is subject to approval by washington. >> authorities have confirmed that three people died after a shopping center collapsed. emergency workers were able to

rescue about 40 people from the rubble from the six-story building. because of the incident is not known. all right, we will be back after a very short break, so do not go away.

>> welcome back. the economic outlook for europe remains grim. now the european central bank chief, mario draghi, is warning that germany, which has so far been largely immune to the debt crisis, will start to feel the effects. >> the comments came as chancellor merkel delivered a speech to the european parliament about growth. she defended her consistent push for austerity measures and fiscal responsibility and reiterated her belief that brussels should be able to supervise national budgets within the eu. >> chancellor merkel is not used

to receiving applause in brussels. lawmakers often accuse her of citing only with germany, but she came to present her own vision of europe. she would like to see a timetable for a full economic and currency union like was agreed that the eu summit last month. >> we must be ambitious and demanding. we must not shrink from amending the agreement that forms the basis of our economic and monetary union if necessary. this process of consolidation in the european union is essential, and i view the european parliament and the european commission as allies. >> merkel stressed that europe needed to restore trust. many lawmakers are unhappy about her insistence on austerity programs that have robbed people of their livelihoods. >> madam chancellor, you have

spoken about freedom, but what should the millions of people do whose only freedom consists of being out of work? more statistics were published today, showing that unemployment is rising in europe. you cannot be happy about this. >> at the moment, the chancellor has other problems. she flew straight to brussels from a meeting in london -- she flew straight from brussels to a meeting in london with prime minister david cameron, who has threatened to veto the eu's medium term budget. >> let's go to simon for more analysis. how significant is it? is chancellor merkel aiming to rework the you? >> to a point, i think this was a major speech with the chancellor calling for an ambitious road map to renew your's economic and monetary union over the next two or three years. as you said, she called on leaders to agree to a concrete timetable for doing this.

she is calling for more coordination between european governments on economic policy, also saying that governments should make commitments -- specifically binding commitments -- to the european commission, including on sensitive areas such as taxation and employment policies. she is also talking about a different relationship between the various european institutions. that could involve changes to the european treaties, so a big push for more europe from the chancellor in brussels. >> we know merkel is getting set to meet up with the uk's david cameron. can we expect sparks to fly there? >> i think chancellor merkel will be looking for compromise, but the british prime minister has been talking about proposals from some governments that the european union's budget for the next six or seven years the increase. he said those ideas are ludicrous. he wants a freeze on eu

spending, or indeed a reduction. chancellor merkel would also like to get the eu budget under control, but she will be reminding david cameron that it is important for him to stay within the european union. that is what she has been talking today -- talking about today, britain belongs in europe. >> simon, we thank you very much for that. the meeting between chancellor merkel and the british premiere tonight will also address the broader issue of britain's strained relationship with europe. >> anti-european sentiment has been growing lately with many british citizens disliking the idea of brussels having a say in their daily business. >> but many business leaders are worried that attitude can go too far, and they say membership in the european club has too many benefits to risk throwing away. >> this historic factory was once right with the clutter, he, and grime of train production.

it is the heartland of british industry, but it was replaced by modern, midsize companies like this company which makes indicator lights, lamps, and safety equipment and exports most of its output. >> we do not to see britain as our home market. we see europe as our home market. it is on our doorstep. the easiest market to get to. at the end of the day, generally, people want to do pbusiness with them as well, which is important. >> the company's management believes britain should stay in the european union to maintain free trade with the continent, but they are frustrated with brussels about -- with brussel'' red tape. brussels has limited their working week to a maximum of 48 hours. >> workers' rights need to be protected, but it seems we have

gone a little bit too far in some places. what we have done is restricted our competitiveness in the market. at the end of the day, if you look towards asia and china, they have not got such strict laws. >> a lot of britain's employers complain about eu regulations. among them is oakland international, also located near birmingham, but oakland does not deny that the advantages of e membership far outweigh the disadvantages. it used to be hard to find warehouse workers, for instance. now, polish immigrants happily fill those vacancies. they say they want politicians to make it an easier place to do business. >> it is very important that europe sees itself as competing against the rest of the world rather than competing against each other. we should not be into a battle between what the uk is doing against, what -- u.k. is doing

against ireland against what italy is doing. we are losing world market share. family and the european union would be a nightmare for many british companies. the eu is a mainstay for a great many businesses across the country. >> all right, in greece, protesters outside parliament as lawmakers debate the latest round of austerity measures. a vote is expected later+ tonight. >> this new package of spending cuts and tax hikes has triggered a general strike, and many defections by government lawmakers, but despite that opposition, the measure is expected to pass by a narrow margin. >> the stakes could hardly be higher as greek lawmakers debate more austerity measures. all sides agree greece is on the brink of collapse but are at odds over what steps to take. >> they are destroying the lives of the greeks. they will destroy all that is left in such a short time.

>> if this law is not passed and the country is not immediately put on the road to recovery, it would be an extreme violation of the constitution and would lead the nation to destruction and catastrophe. >> as the parliamentarians argued their cases, the streets outside have filled with pensioners who hope their protests will sway the outcome of the vote. all the people feel they have been hit unfairly biased 30 cuts. they say they feel retirement payments have already been cut too far. >> i am if pensioner, but i take low pension -- i am 8 pensioner, but i take low pension, 600 euros -- i am a pensioner. >> but the government has few

options. the state needs the 31 billion euros within 10 days if it is to avoid default. >> tensions building and protests are continuing in athens. we go to our great correspondent. what can we expect and when from the greek parliament tonight? >> it is going to be a fairly long night. prime minister samaras has just made an impassioned appeal to the parliament for the austerity measures to be passed. he has promised it will be the last austerity measures that will be implemented. i do not think a lot of greeks believed that. he has said that greece could return to growth in 2014. again, it is a case of weather his words will be believed on the street. >> is there any alternative? what happens if parliament votes no? >> i think the measures are

going to go through. every survey for three years now has shown that greeks want to stay in the euro. it is just that they're getting more and more tired with seeing their living standards fall, unemployment rising, and every turn they make in a sense is met by some new demand for austerity. >> this time around, i think we as the general public can see their point. the unions say they cannot indoor further austerity measures. have they truly reach that threshold, or will they be taking more pain? >> the prime minister says this will be the last one. i do not think many people believe him. i think if there's any more sharper austerity measures after this latest round, i think it will then be leading into a

situation where you could get serious, serious social unrest. >> thank you very much. >> before we wrap things up, we'll return to our top story -- barack obama has secured four more years in the white house, but he has a lot of challenges facing him. and the democrats were jubilant as news of obama's victory came through. the president did better than expected in some key states which decided the election's outcome. leaders from around the world have been congratulating obama on his reelection. >> that brings you up-to-date at this hour here on the "journal." thanks for joining us. >> more news at the top of the hour. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--