November 5, 1984
On the Day before the Election
Rarely was the reelection of an American president so assured as the one of Ronald Reagan. It is not a question whether Reagan will win, just by how much. There is talk about a landslide victory that could carry 48 of the 50 states. But Reagan is not the preferred candidate of the Europeans. Here, one does not understand, actually people are puzzled, why Reagan is such a favored candidate with the American voters. Yet even his critics and those who are strangers to him have to admit that, over the past four years, the reputation of the United States abroad has increased considerably.
November 8, 1984
The Election Result
As expected, Ronald Reagan won the presidential election over his challenger Walter Mondale by a vast majority. Reagan’s reelection was more convincing than even optimists had dared to hope. Reagan won 49 of the 50 states, while only his home state Minnesota remained loyal to Walter Mondale. With 59% of the votes cast, 525 of the 538 electoral college votes go to Reagan. However, in the Senate, Charles H. Percy, Republican Senator from Illinois, did not make his reelection. Percy, therefore, has to relinquish the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As a result of the election, the new distribution of seats in Congress is as follows: Senate: 53 (R) vs. 47 (D) - House of Representatives: 253 (D) vs. 182 (R). From among the newly elected governorships - 8 go to the Republicans and 5 to the Democrats.
Innsbruck, November 25, 1984
The Famine
It breaks one’s heart to watch these days how hundreds of thousands of people in Ethiopia starve to death. Despite all the international relief efforts, help is coming too late for these emaciated people. Altogether nearly 6 million people are threatened by famine. According to this week’s edition of Time Magazine, more than 40% of a population of 42 million are undernourished; 2.2 million are fleeing from the drought areas, only to end up in overcrowded camps. This human misery stretches all across the Sahel, the Sub-Sahara region, while famine, dictatorships and the ravages of war coincide in aggravating this affliction.