The European Union is opposed to the death penalty in all cases and has consistently espoused its universal abolition. He is a horrible symbol of your mania for the death penalty. George W. Bush is seen as one of its leading proponents. It is no passing concern here. Most U.S. executions get more coverage in the European media than at home.
Students hold noisy campus rallies denouncing Texas, the state that leads the nation in executions.
European politicians regularly cross the Atlantic to meet with death-row inmates, amid great publicity back home. Accordingly, some death-penalty opponents have welcomed the Texas governor's political promotion on the theory that it will make their case more visible. In a recent conversation, a German diplomat said both officials and the public in his country are deeply troubled by the number of people executed in Texas and the issue of capital punishment is likely to continue to dog Bush in Europe. He said the issue is likely to sufficiently animate the public to bring people on to the streets when Bush visits, and predicted that European politicians will raise the issue in meetings with the new president. Most of the criticism in Europe comes from the political left, but this is an issue on which conservatives, too, tend to criticize the United States.