Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Transatlantic Figure

by Léa Gaudron and Nicolas Dünkelsbühler (KU Leuven)

This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 11-May 9, 2019.

Schwarzenegger meeting with Austrian
Chancellor Christian Kern in 2017.
Image Credit: SPÖ/Zach-Kiesling, via Creative Commons

Being born in a small town in post-war Austria in 1947 is an unlikely start for anyone to live the American Dream. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, born as the second son of a poor and conservative family in a rural area near Graz, with a father who had a Nazi past, made it. He also became an important figure in transatlantic relations, showing that it is possible to reach the highest ranks of politics in the US, while having an influence on the political and cultural sphere in Europe. Schwarzenegger’s success story started when he moved to the United States. He had been interested in bodybuilding since age 15; at the end of his career he won Mister Universe and Mister Olympia seven times, becoming the most successful bodybuilder of all time. This era was not only a tale of success. Schwarzenegger later admitted to the use of steroids to enhance his sportive performance during his active time as a bodybuilder. While this was common in the bodybuilding environment, this mistake would later still have a negative influence on Schwarzenegger’s reputation.

Still, his bodybuilding career caught the attention of Hollywood directors. His movie career started with roles in action movies. His Austrian accent, that would later become his trademark and remind the public of his European background in his career in politics, was still a handicap to getting roles beyond his stereotypical “Arnold Strong” stage name. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983 and managed to keep his Austrian citizenship. Schwarzenegger became one of the first former bodybuilders to appear in protagonist roles in Hollywood blockbusters that were successful both in Europe and in the US. His signature role as the “Terminator” in the 1984 action thriller was perhaps the most successful and gave him his nickname “The Governator”.

During his career in Hollywood, Schwarzenegger started showing interest in politics, and started his political ambitions in some minor roles for the Republicans in California. His Hollywood peers were generally more leaning towards the Democrats; Schwarzenegger’s political opinions could be best described as moderate. In the 2003 recall elections, when he ran for office to become the Governor of California, his background as a movie star helped his campaign to get national attention. He won the elections; and during his time in office he already showed some tendencies to integrate bipartisan policies in his agenda, he also appointed a Democrat as his chief of staff. His popularity helped him get re-elected in 2006.

Schwarzenegger remained a public figure after his time as governor. He has taken an interest in election reforms and also launched the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, whose main focus is to highlight the responsibility of leaders to overcome partisanship in a series of crucial issues, including education, energy, and the environment. Schwarzenegger has gotten particularly involved in the latter since the beginning of his first Governor mandate, California being one of the most vulnerable states to climate change. He co-founded the “Regions of Climate Action” (R20) organization, dedicated to helping sub-governmental entities globally to take action against climate change, to communicate on the importance of low-carbon emissions and to finance climate-resilience projects worldwide. Thanks to this action, he was recognized in 2012 as a Global Advocate by the UN Correspondents Association.  He was also rewarded for being the “Renewable Energy Leader of the Decade” by the American Council On Renewable Energy, and received the “National Leadership Award” by the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

In his article “The Strange Political Afterlife of Arnold Schwarzenegger” Edward-Isaac Dovere argues that the reason behind Schwarzenegger’s current political engagement lies both in his resemblance with and opposition to Donald Trump, comparing them to twins separated at birth. On the one hand, they are both the same age, Republicans coming from the show-business before getting involved into politics. They were both underestimated, mocked as not being serious candidates, one because of his Austrian accent and impressive physique, the other for his bold declarations and overall behavior.

On the other hand, when Trump announced the US’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Austrian met with a series of high-level politicians, including the French president and the mayor of Paris in order to create a partnership between Paris, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the R20. When the President failed to condemn the actions of white supremacists in Charlottesville, he donated to the Simon Wiesenthal Center and accepted, for once, to reflect on his father’s Nazi past, in order to remind everyone of the dangers of antisemitism.

Even though his political life is mostly based in the US nowadays, Schwarzenegger remains an important figure for Europe. He started as an embodiment for the American Dream, showing many Europeans that they too can “make it” in the States if they set their minds to it. Today, he is a federating figure, with both the Americans and the Europeans able to identify with him. Furthermore, his implication in the fight against global warming echoes the wave of concern in the old and the new continent, despite climate sceptics.