Behind US President George W Bush¡¯s outstretched hand of friendship, some European leaders sense a genuine change of heart. Even French President Jacques Chirac believes Bush now wants a ¡°true partnership?

¡°That¡¯s the feeling I had,?Chirac, once Bush¡¯s strongest critic, said on February 22. ¡°The future will tell me whether or not I was wrong.?

In visiting the Brussels headquarters of the European Union (EU), Bush indicated that he wants to work with Europe as a whole, not just favourite allies who backed him on Iraq.

¡°It¡¯s positive that he starts his second term with trying to improve his relations with Europe,?Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Bo Ringholm told The Associated Press. ¡°They have, of course, been very tense.?

Bush not only invited Chirac to dinner and fed him french ?not freedom ?fries, but also had a folksy greeting for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who infuriated Washington by pulling Spain¡¯s troops out of Iraq.

¡°Hola, my friend, how are you??Bush asked in Spanish.

Berlin¡¯s daily Tagesspiegel said Bush ¡°never needs many words to send a message.?

¡°The one he sent in Brussels ?the home of EU and NATO ?means change; it means, in a nutshell, ¡®Let¡¯s try it.?It is up to Europe to use this attempt,?the editorial said.

On Europe¡¯s streets, though, many say no amount of diplomatic sweet talk could win them over. They can¡¯t forget the bad Bush of old, who ignored European protests as he sent troops into Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein.

¡°Europe doesn¡¯t share the primary objective of the United States, which is to be the leader of the world,?said Christine Desanges, a 67-year-old retiree in Paris. ¡°Europe¡¯s objective is world peace.?

At a demonstration in Brussels, red balloons floated up into snowy skies bearing the message ¡°Shame on you, Bush.?The crowd shouted ¡°Bush go home.?

At another protest in Berlin, Germany ?the next country Bush was visiting ?Ursula Meyer said Bush ¡°hasn¡¯t changed.?

¡°He wants reconciliation but he¡¯s not backing off his principles ?he¡¯s threatening Syria and he¡¯s threatening Iran.?

Even in Britain, where Bush found his staunchest ally on Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Blair, shop manager Jitendra Davda found it hard to believe that Bush could win over the continent.

¡°Well, he can charm Mr Blair all he wants, but it will be more difficult to charm Europe,?said Davda.

A European concern is that the United States may attack Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons. Bush dismissed the idea on February 22 as ¡°simply ridiculous,?though he said all options were on the table.

Italian left-wing daily La Repubblica said Bush has been reborn in Europe as ¡°the statesman?anxious ¡°not to throw out the baby of Western identity with the dirty water of mutual errors and miscomprehensions.?

Chirac was impressed with Bush¡¯s respectful attitude to the EU ?an issue close to the French leader¡¯s heart.

¡°Something has changed in the American approach,?Chirac said. ¡°President Bush clearly indicated that he aims to have a real partnership, thus a real discussion.?

For one Swiss newspaper, the displays of bonhomie were surreal.

¡°It¡¯s like a dream,?wrote Geneva daily Le Temps. ¡°After the split over Iraq, an American president proposes to the Europeans ?in their capital ?that they write a page of the history of hope together and launch a new era in trans-Atlantic ties.?

¡°Six months ago, no one would have believed it. Or they would have said: John Kerry, perhaps.?

(Agencies via Xinhua)