November 4, 2004 - 5:45 AM

World leaders grapple with Bush re-election

By Patrick Worsnip

LONDON (Reuters) - A divided world is coming to terms with the prospect of four more years of U.S. President George W. Bush, with
friends hailing his re-election and critics vowing to make the best of it, especially in Iraq.

Allies like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi saw Bush's victory as bolstering the U.S.-declared
"war on terror". But some disenchanted Europeans urged him to heal transatlantic rifts.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, whose outspoken opposition to war in Iraq angered Washington but helped him win re-election in
2002, sought common ground with Bush.

"Our security and stability are threatened by international terrorism, the risk of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, regional crises,
poverty, climate change and epidemics. These challenges can only be met together," Schroeder said in a telegram on Wednesday.

French President Jacques Chirac, another fierce critic of last year's Iraq war, congratulated Bush and also spoke of "our joint fight against
terrorism".

Bush's staunchest ally in the Iraq conflict, Prime Minister Tony Blair, told parliament that peace in the Middle East was key to defeating
terrorism and the world must work with Bush to achieve it.

"The need to revitalise the Middle East peace process is the single most pressing political challenge in our world today," Blair told reporters
later.

Many Arabs forecast further bloodshed in the Middle East because of what they saw as the misguided policies of Bush, who has backed
away after seeing his peace "road map" for the region shredded by violence.

ANTI-TERROR CAMPAIGN

Elsewhere, politicians and commentators said continuity in the White House had its merits and Bush supporters abroad focused on what
they saw as the president's more resolute anti-terror line three years after the September 11 attacks.

In dramatic proof of the changes in Moscow in the past 20 years, Putin said victory for Bush meant the United States had not allowed itself
to be cowed by terrorists.

"I can only feel joy that the American people did not allow itself to be intimidated, and made the most sensible decision," he told a Kremlin
news conference.

Berlusconi, also in Moscow, said: "Bush will continue with the policy that assigns the United States the role of defender and promoter of
freedom and democracy".

In Poland, which like Italy has troops in Iraq backing U.S. forces, President Aleksander Kwasniewski said that on terrorism Bush "is a very
decisive leader who is right, simply right" and that continued cooperation with him was "really good news".

Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq after his March election win following Madrid
attacks claimed by a group linked to al Qaeda, expressed his wish to work with Bush.

BUILD BRIDGES

The U.S. election was watched intently around the world with issues of deep international interest, including the Iraq conflict and the state of
the U.S. economy, dominating the race.

The European Union said it looked forward to strengthening ties with the United States.

Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik spoke for several countries when he said: "I hope that (Bush) will try to build bridges ... and
do more to cooperate via international organisations."

Both sides in the Middle East conflict congratulated Bush.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said in Paris, where he is undergoing medical tests, that he hoped Bush's second term would lead to
Middle East peace and "guarantee the just national rights of the Palestinian people," an aide said.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose country enjoys strong support from the world's only superpower, said: "We congratulate
the American people for their choice."

But with the exception of Israelis and some Iranians, Middle Eastern peoples reacted with resigned disappointment.

Khaled Maeena, editor of Saudi newspaper Arab News, said: "Four more years means (Bush) will be relentless in fighting so-called
terrorism. More innocent people will be victims ... All the Saudis I've seen so far are disappointed."

Analysts said Bush would need to restore goodwill eroded by U.S. opposition to worldwide issues such as the Kyoto pact to fight global
warming -- a top issue for Britain's Blair -- and the International Criminal Court.