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Shultz told the press that the Reagan message was "constructive." "We believe that this is a potentially important moment for U.S.-Soviet relations," he said. The Secretary explained that his discussions with Gorbachev had touched on the President's desire for deep cuts in nuclear arsenals and for a "long-term dialogue" on the contribution that Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars plan, could make to foster more stable superpower relations. Shultz described Gorbachev as "energetic and businesslike," someone who could go "right at the issues in a conversational way." But Shultz also cautioned, "It is one thing to be businesslike, but whether it turns out you can do business is another matter."
The swiftness of the transition raised expectations in some West European publications that a positive new era was unfolding in the Soviet Union. The German weekly Stern headlined the story of Gorbachev's ascendance with the question A RED KENNEDY? A more ponderous query followed: "Does he have the spirit of Peter the Great, who opened Russia to the West in the 18th century in order to strengthen it?" But not everyone--certainly not government officials and analysts who specialize in Soviet affairs--echoed any such attitude. Said West Germany's Heinz Brahm, a director at the Federal Institute for Eastern and International Studies: "We can expect a new charm offensive toward Western Europe. We may find ourselves longing for the days of the old men who didn't talk very much."
The general caution reflected fears that Gorbachev, like Andropov, was being oversold in parts of the West as a man of "liberal" views who would take radical measures to revamp the Soviet system and open doors to the outside world. In fact, very little was known in the West about Gorbachev until recently, except that he was a Moscow State University-trained lawyer and an agronomist, and a man of remarkable political staying power. Then, last December in Britain, Gorbachev and his wife created a stir with their unproletarian style--the London penny press called them the Gucci Comrades. Within days a Soviet media star was born who sported dark, conservatively cut suits, smiled and joked, and was fast on his feet in a way that led one British journalist to compare him to "a successful lawyer or banker from the Midwest." It seemed a repeat of what one U.S. official called the "Andropov syndrome--that the man drank Scotch and wore cuffs on his pants."
There is one major difference between the elusive Andropov and Gorbachev. While KGB disinformers spread tantalizing tales about Andropov's taste for Scotch, Benny Goodman and Western pulp fiction, the former chief of the Soviet intelligence services remained the shadowy figure he had always been. Andropov, throughout his life, never traveled to the West and was seen only from afar at Kremlin ceremonies. Gorbachev, in contrast, is responsible for creating his own image abroad. He has what one Washington Kremlinologist calls "a real sense of public relations."