Brandenburg Gate may welcome Obama

Published on Tuesday 8 July 2008 22:16

RONALD Reagan did it. Bill Clinton did it. Now Barack Obama wants to join the exclusive band of notable Americans who have addressed the German public standing before the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

Officials in Berlin said yesterday that the United States presidential hopeful's campaign team had contacted them about what permission and security issues had to be resolved before he could speak in front of the monument.

"It's just an idea, and now, of course, they will need to talk with the chancellor, talk with the mayor," a spokesman for the city said. "They have to decide what they want."

Mr Obama is planning two foreign trips this summer, including stops in the Middle East and European capitals, to try to boost his foreign policy credentials.

Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said the city would be thrilled to welcome the Democratic candidate, wherever he wanted to speak.

He diplomatically added that it would also welcome the Republican candidate, John McCain.

In the past, only US presidents – not candidates – have had the honour of addressing a crowd in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Mr Reagan memorably stood on the former West German side in 1987, exhorting the Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, to "open this gate" and "tear down this wall".