LONDON — As the day of the 2020 U.S. election dawns, the whole world is watching with bated breath.
Campaigning by incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden amid an unprecedented public health crisis — the coronavirus pandemic — has given the outside world an insight into the issues that matter to American voters, from the economy and jobs to health care and racial equality.
The run-up to the vote has also highlighted the political polarization that has split American voters.
Beyond its shores, the U.S. election matters because the next president will shape not only America's future, but the international political landscape, too.
A disputed result and potential civil unrest in the U.S. are in focus the world over. CNBC has a roundup of what the world's media thinks as Election Day finally arrives.
The U.K. is a good place to start given its "special relationship" with the U.S. Papers are focused on the possibility of a disputed election result, protracted wrangling over the vote count and even potential unrest on the streets.
The left-wing Guardian newspaper headlines its coverage of the election and the final hours of campaigning by the candidates with "U.S. braces for historic election amid fears democracy is in danger," leading with concerns over Trump's "incendiary" tweet Monday (that Twitter also labeled as potentially misleading) that there could be "violence on the streets" if the vote count is not cut short in Pennsylvania.
The right-leaning Telegraph newspaper also leads with concerns over a disputed result, its election coverage headlined with "America braces for election violence with shops boarded up and National Guard on standby."
'Fight for America'Â
The election dominates world politics coverage by Europe's news outlets on Tuesday with quick guides to the vote and opinion pieces weighing up what a Biden administration, or continuation of the Trump presidency, could mean for international relations, particularly Europe's relationship with the U.S. following a fractious four years between Trump and the Continent's leaders since his election in 2016.
In France, an editorial in Le Figaro newspaper is headlined "An American Suspense" with author Philippe Gelie noting that "outside of the World Cup (soccer) finals, there is hardly any planetary suspense comparable to the U.S. presidential election." Italian daily La Repubblica leads its coverage saying "the world is waiting" for the results of the vote, with its editor writing about the need to "reconstruct" America.
Germany's financial news site, Handelsblatt, focuses on how the election will affect financial markets while tabloid newspaper Bild's election coverage highlights what it calls "The fight for America" between the candidates.
Meanwhile at Die Welt newspaper, its chief foreign policy correspondent, Clemens Wergin, asks in an opinion piece "What will remain of Trump?" as he believes that "for many Americans and transatlantic people abroad, the Trump presidency is a lingering nightmare that they hope to wake from on November 4th."
'We don't need America'
Given accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the 2020 vote, too, Russian papers are highlighting Russians' perspectives on the vote, and how the next leader of the U.S. will affect relations with Moscow.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes that what it calls the "unprecedentedly scandalous" 2020 U.S. presidential campaign "that has kept the world in suspense" has come to an end. Izvestia newspaper leads its coverage by focusing on how the vote will affect the balance of power in Congress, and speaks to experts who warn that the risk of political turbulence is "very high."
Russian newspaper Kommersant discusses the importance of a victory for the candidates in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania while an opinion piece by commentator Sergei Strokan evaluates whether Trump or Biden would be better for Russia.
Ultimately Strokan contends that "there is more and more reason to come to the conclusion that we have not needed America for a long time, although we do not openly admit this. Neither Trump's America nor Biden's America."
Beyond Europe
Europe is not the only continent watching the U.S. election closely. Latin America is focusing on the contest, as well as the importance of the Hispanic vote.
The Latin American edition of Spain's El Pais newspaper notes that "the Latin vote will be decisive in Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona," adding that "the participation of the Hispanic electorate in some states may overturn the presidential elections in the U.S."
U.S.-Latin American relations have been somewhat strained given Trump's opposition to immigration and U.S. intervention during Venezuela's 2019 political uprising against the leftist regime of that country's president, Nicolas Maduro. Newspapers in the region, including the Buenos Aires Times in Argentina, weighed up how the election "could set the tone for the next phase of U.S.-Latin America relations."
Venezuelan newspaper El Universal called the U.S. race "its most anomalous and hostile campaign in a sea of ​​uncertainty." Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo notes that the election is expected to see a record turnout, given that more than 94 million votes had already been cast in the U.S before Election Day, already exceeding or nearing total levels in 2016, according to the U.S. Elections Project.
The paper also noted that the government of controversial Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a populist leader who has tried to ally himself with Trump, "still believes in Trump's re-election."
'Disgrace'
In Asia, Chinese state outlet Xinhua news agency wrote that "anxiety, pandemic prelude U.S. Election Day as candidates make final push," but editorials are more critical of the vote.
An editorial in the Global Times, a tabloid newspaper in China that is published under the auspices of the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper, accused the U.S. election of stalling the "global Covid-19 fight."
"The U.S. presidential election has seriously impacted Covid-19 prevention, resulting in an untold negative influence," the editorial said. "The Trump administration misjudged the epidemic early this year, leading to its ineptitude in the virus fight. The election has made the Trump administration stick to its wrong approach."
Pulling no punches, the editorial concludes that "the U.S. epidemic fight and its election have set a terrible example to the world. It is not only a disgrace to U.S. power but also to the American liberal system."
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the location of where the Buenos Aires Times is published.