Germany's top-selling tabloid, Bild, endorsed President George W. Bush for re-election on 27 October 2004, in what the paper said was almost certainly its first-ever endorsement of a US presidential candidate in its 51-year history.
The editorial, written by journalist Hugo Mueller-Vogg, a former publisher of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, argued that Bush grasped the limits of Germany's overseas military capacity and would not press Berlin for additional troops in Iraq. Kerry, the piece contended, would make precisely that request, adding strain to an already difficult German-American relationship.
Mueller-Vogg also credited Bush with learning from the Iraq experience that durable peace required broad international cooperation. On counterterrorism, the editorial judged Kerry's approach weaker and said European partners had little sense of where he intended to lead US foreign policy.
Bild drew a parallel to Ronald Reagan, crediting him with helping end the Cold War and German reunification, and suggested Bush might eventually earn similar gratitude.
The endorsement followed by one day a Financial Times editorial backing Kerry. A poll conducted for Stern magazine on 21 and 22 October among 1,004 Germans found 59 percent expected Kerry to win the November election, against 31 percent for Bush.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.