It has just come to my attnetion that the Governator owes allegiance to Old Europe! The SF Chronicle reported last year that A.S. kept his Austrian citizenship when he naturalized as an American.
Shortly before gaining U.S. citizenship in 1983, the bodybuilder-turned- actor made sure to retain his Austrian citizenship as well -- a status rarely granted in Austria, which in principle does not allow dual nationality.
Unlike Schwarzenegger, thousands of other Austrian immigrants who became naturalized American citizens over the years have automatically lost their Austrian citizenship the moment they took the oath of allegiance to the United States.
Josef Krainer, the former governor of Schwarzenegger's home province of Styria, recently acknowledged that he had helped Schwarzenegger to retain his Austrian citizenship.
"We would have been idiots if we had denied Schwarzenegger's express wish at the time to be allowed to keep his Austrian citizenship," he said. "After all, today Arnold is the best known Austrian in the world."
Should this make us worried about his capacity to govern on the American people's behalf? No. He has clearly demonstrated his concern for the us. This doesn't mean that he may not also care for the Austrian people, but this doesn't diminish his capacity to attend to the American people's needs.
Note that Governor Gray Davis never brought up his opponent's foreign citizenship during the recall campaign. I wonder if the other side would have shown such consideration if the shoe had been on the other foot.