After achieving success in the United States, Joe the Plumber has gone international. According to the New York Times, a senior strategist for the ruling party of Greece said of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis:

"Karamanlis has to show again that he is fighting for Joe the Greek Plumber and that small and medium-size enterprises are the government's priority."

Joe the Greek Plumber is the first Joe the Plumber franchise to open in Europe, but if the brand achieves anything near the success it has had in the U.S., Joe the Plumber mania may soon sweep Europe with franchises across the continent, including Joe the Dutch Plumber, Joe the Bulgarian Plumber, and Joe the Liechtensteinian Plumber.

Success is not guaranteed. According to Dr. Orvish Ichstein, Professor of International Nomenclature at Georgetown University, Joe's international popularity may be hindered by cultural barriers:

"Part of the appeal of the Joe the Plumber brand is his everyman name. Before Joe, there were a number of other opinionated plumbers in the U.S., including Achmed the Plumber, Bhekizitha the Plumber, and Genghis the Plumber, but their names lacked popular appeal. If he wants to make it in Europe, Joe should allow his franchises to adopt local flavor, i.e. Zorba the Plumber.

A spokesperson for Joe the Plumber, Joe the Spokesperson, disagreed:

"You can't take the Joe out of Joe the Plumber. That's like taking the Christ out of Christmas. If Jesus Christ had changed his name when he globalized, the Greeks would celebrate Zorbamas. That's just wrong."

Joe the Plumber is also likely to face stiff competition from the Polish Plumber, a popular icon who currently dominates the European plumbing icon market. According to spokesperson Jan Spokespersonsky, the Polish Plumber plans to vigorously defend his market:

"There is many Joes in America, but Joes is not wished in our country or in Europe. Our Polish Plumber is very clean with much yellow hair and big wrench. He kick out all dirty Joes from our country. "

In other news, Joe Sixpack is also reported to be considering a global expansion with a Spanish franchise called Joe Sangriapack.

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