AUSTRIA: AUSTRIANS REACT TO ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S BID TO BECOME THE NEXT GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA IN THE UNITED STATES
Record ID:
208334
AUSTRIA: AUSTRIANS REACT TO ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S BID TO BECOME THE NEXT GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA IN THE UNITED STATES
- Title: AUSTRIA: AUSTRIANS REACT TO ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER'S BID TO BECOME THE NEXT GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA IN THE UNITED STATES
- Date: 9th October 2003
- Summary: (W6) GRAZ, AUSTRIA (OCTOBER 7, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. SLV ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER STADIUM; SLV STREET SCENES OF TOWN STOCKSHOTS (5 SHOTS) 0.27 2. (SOUNDBITE) (German) MICHAEL STEINKELLNER, SAYING "When he (Arnold Schwarzenegger) comes to Graz it's only for a publicity stunt. I think he is a full blooded American." 0.36 3. SLV TOWN (2 SHOTS) 0.44 4. (SOUNDBITE) (German) DR. KARL MULLER, SAYING "Wonderful. He's (Schwarzenegger) not particularly intelligent, he's a great showman he is well suited to politics." 0.54 5. SLV TOWN 1.02 6. (SOUNDBITE) (German) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN, SAYING "We owe him (Schwarzenegger) a debt of gratitude. He's done a lot for Austria." 1.14 7. SLV TOWN SCENES (3 SHOTS) 1.30 8. (SOUNDBITE) (German) HANS ASTENBERGER, SAYING "It (Schwarzenegger possibly becoming governor of California, USA) doesn't surprise me for the USA. Anything is possible there." 1.37 9. SCU ANOLD POSTERS AND MV SCHWARZENEGGER THEMED PARTY BEING HELD IN PUB (11 SHOTS) 2.32 (W6) THAL, AUSTRIA (OCTOBER 7, 2003) (REUTERS) 10. SCU ROADSIGN FOR THAL TOWN WHERE SCHWARZENEGGER WAS BORN; SLV TOWN (3 SHOTS) 2.45 11. SLV CAR DRIVING PAST HOUSE WHERE SCHWARZENEGGER WAS BORN; SLV MORE OF HOUSE WHERE SCHWARZENEGGER WAS BORN; SLV LAKE WHERE SCHWARZENEGGER IS SAID TO HAVE PROPOSED TO HIS WIFE, MARIA SHRIVER (5 SHOTS) 3.17 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 24th October 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: GRAZ AND THAL, AUSTRIA
- Country: Austria
- Reuters ID: LVABSO97TS15WIJSQRRITYRJ6K4
- Story Text: Austrians react to Arnold Schwarzenegger's bid to
become the next governor of California in the United States.
Arnold Schwarzenegger may be poised to become
governor of California without a day's experience in
elected office, that is if last-minute allegations about
his past don't drag him down.
As voters went to cast their ballots on Tuesday
(October 7, 2003) late polls showed they were almost evenly
divided on whether to recall Governor Gray Davis. But
polls also showed Schwarzenegger was leading the pack of
some 135 candidates to become governor should the recall
succeed, placing him within sight of his grandest goal.
Only a few days before the special election,
Schwarzenegger countered with outrage a barrage of bad
publicity about his past actions, including allegations
that he groped at least 15 women and once praised Hitler.
Born in an Austrian village in 1947 during tough
postwar times, Schwarzenegger put his legendary drive and
focus into bodybuilding, transforming the sport as he
achieved his goals of becoming Mr. Universe and Mr. Olympia
numerous times.
His fame in the limited circles of bodybuilding
generated an invitation to move to California in 1968. He
never left, becoming an American citizen in 1983 and an
unabashed enthusiast for California.
Back in the Austrian town of Graz where Schwarzenegger
once lived, locals expressed mixed feelings about the now
internationally known actor's latest ambitions.
"When he (Arnold Schwarzenegger) comes to Graz it's
only for a publicity stunt. I think he is a full blooded
American," said Michael Steinkellner.
"It (Schwarzenegger possibly becoming governor of
California, USA) doesn't surprise me for the USA.
Anything is possible there," said Hans Astenberger.
Other Graz residents were more encouraging.
"Wonderful. He's (Schwarzenegger) not particularly
intelligent - he's a great showman he is well suited to
politics," said Dr. Karl Muller.
"We owe him (Schwarzenegger) a debt of gratitude. He's
done a lot for Austria," said another passer-by in Graz.
Schwarzenegger's Hollywood breakthrough came in landing
the lead to the hugely successful 1982 film "Conan the
Barbarian," a role for which, like many of his later
parts, he was typically bare chested, action oriented and
uttering limited dialogue.
The first of three "Terminator" films followed in 1984,
and Schwarzenegger was soon among the highest-paid and most
prominent action stars in Hollywood. His 1986 wedding to
Maria Shriver, niece of President John Kennedy, realized
another goal of marrying a beautiful, savvy American woman.
Politics have long attracted the the bodybuilder turned
actor, and as early as the 1970s he was boasting he was
born to lead. Journalists have long asked him about
following in the footsteps of actor Ronald Reagan to the
political arena.
He made that leap in August when he entered the race to
replace Governor Gray Davis in a special October 7 recall
election.
Schwarzenegger has poured millions of his own money
into the effort, which, like most of the contests he has
faced in life, he refuses to believe he can lose.
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