At summit in France, Obama sees risks ahead for the US

Associated Press

CANNES, France

His political fortunes and his nation’s economy at risk, President Barack Obama on Thursday implored European leaders to swiftly work out a eurozone rescue plan, aware of the potential fallout at home if they fail.

Obama, at the French Riviera for a summit of the Group of 20 leading industrialized and developing economies, pledged to be a partner in helping the Europeans cope with the economic emergency. But his aides insisted that Europe’s problem, brought on by the threat of a Greek default, was one it had to fix.

Taking his jobs-first message abroad, Obama said the goal was getting people back to work. “That means,” Obama said, “we’re going to have to resolve the situation here in Europe.”

For Obama, an incumbent seeking a second term in a time of economic peril, the stakes in Europe are immense.

Europe is the largest U.S. trading partner, and its intertwined financial institutions mean that a worsening crisis in Europe inevitably would spread across the Atlantic. The timing could not be worse as the weak U.S. economy is beginning to show some signs of life even with the unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent.

Obama’s economic options and his leverage are limited, and the European debt crisis consumed all attention at the summit meeting.

The Greek government was in danger of collapsing over Prime Minister George Papandreou’s call for a public vote on the rescue deal. The Greek leader later scrapped the referendum but ignored repeated calls to resign, while the eurozone remained in turmoil.