Merkel's coalition to court the U.S.

Washington Times ^ | October 12, 2005 | Nicholas Kralev

[West Coast Conservative]

Angela Merkel's new coalition government will work toward stronger ties with the United States and scale back on the close relationship outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had with Russian President Vladimir Putin, say officials from both parties in the future Cabinet.

The officials say that foreign policy has not been a divisive issue in the coalition negotiations between Mrs. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Mr. Schroeder's Social Democratic Party (SPD) since last month's inconclusive election.

But even though they insist there will be no "major substantive change" under Mrs. Merkel's leadership, they say Berlin will correct Mr. Schroeder's excesses in the rift with the Bush administration over the Iraq war and his "special relationship" with Mr. Putin.

"Atlantic partnership and European integration are not mutually exclusive," said Wolfgang Schaeuble, the CDU's senior foreign policy spokesman, suggesting that Mr. Schroeder as well as French President Jacques Chirac had demanded that their continental colleagues choose between a united Europe and the United States.

"Failure in Iraq will be a catastrophe maybe even more for Europe than the United States," he said in an apparent reference to the continent's proximity to the Middle East.

U.S. Ambassador to Germany William R. Timken Jr. said yesterday that relations between the two countries has been improving since President Bush and Mr. Schroeder met in Germany earlier this year.

A Merkel government would likely accelerate that process, he said.

"If you just read the campaign material, you can see that ... her position is one of improving relations further with the United States, so I would expect that the process already going on will be further enhanced," he told a group of American journalists in Berlin.

[elhombrelibre]

Germany will move closer to supporting the forces of civilization and democracy now that Schroeder's self-serving anti-Americanism is over. And the coming good news out of Iraq will speed that process.

[henkster]

Maybe a German can actually get a job next year.

[asp1]

Perhaps the anti-American tone from the government will change, but the entrenched anti-Americanism from the population will not. The average German is anti-American. Schroeder's anti-American platform worked for a reason. There is no friendship between our nations. We Americans should recognize that and move on.

I don't mean that in a mean-spirited way. People change, times change our future does not lie with Europe. Europe is in decline and there is no reason, especially not friendship, for us to hang on to this sinking ship.

[elhombrelibre]

I don't disagree. It's 50 years of Leftist claptrap that's done it. It cannot be undone over night. Germans listen to their elites more than Americans do. That's why they bought into the Euro when it was stupid for the average German to want the Euro. France duped the Germans into it, and the ordinary German went along like a good Prussian. Just stupid.

[asp1]

"....like a good Prussian." LOL! My daughter was a flight attendant for a charter company and always could identify a German group by the fact that as soon as they were told to buckle their seat belts all you could hear were click, click, click all over the plane as the "good Prussians" followed orders. No other group was like that.

I spend a lot of time over at DavidsMediakritik. I am appalled with 1. the nasty and vicious anti-Americanism in Germany today; it is pervasive, and 2. the absolute obsession that German seem to have with America. They spend far too much time thinking about America. Its a little scary.

[hermgem]

Germans have an ingrained and underlying motive for resenting the U.S.
It's envy which day in day out is their big motivator.
They realize that things moved away from Germany.
Unemployment is steep, incomes dwindled, caused from obscene taxation, then unemployment came on top of it, and additionally lowering of wages.
This envy lead to resentment, and yes, hate.
Schroeder manipulated anti Americanism to convince Germans that his motives for a third way, a socialistic society, pacifism, welfare are superior alternatives to capitalism.
Their media while parakeeting Schroeder's party line build and expanded on such superiority theories with ongoing daily overt and covert anti U.S. echo's.
Schroeder's demise is solely due to a stagnant economy, unemployment, plus additional large pending layoffs.
Only less than a 16% minority of graduates from high school to universities are able to join the work force.
Germans know that change is inevitable but are frightened and scared to face these challenges and therefore, while dumping Schroeder voted undecided and in fact stalled on reforms to get this third largest world economy out of stagnation and provide employment.
Germans under Schroeder were told they are world champions in exports for which he took credit, but came to feel that internal creation of wealth, incomes, purchasing power is badly lacking besides having to face these daily reminders of additional pending unemployment.
Too bad such sputtering of Europe's economic engine, too bad for this electorate having evaded a decision of revising conditions towards growth.
Woldwide competition from China, India, the U.S. will not halt, which should bring to their mind that stagnancy is nothing but more of the same or:
further ongoing regression.

[flieger]

They spend far too much time thinking about America.

I am guilty of that too, but that is just because I love America. There are still quite a few Germans that are pro-US and I was surprised about the number of pro-US blogs in German.

There still is hope...

[taiwanese_superhawk]

Wow at least he departed in a classy manner...Not!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051012/wl_nm/germany_schroeder_dc_4;_ylt=AidAXdiya40LDIeoG68P4CCiUMYA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[asp1]

I hope you are right flieger, but I don't hold out much hope. I used to get the warm fuzzies when I thought about Europe (France included), but I have lost so many of those good feelings. If some one were to ask how I feel about Europe I would now have to say I view Europe as an enemy. Not an open enemy at least not yet, but I do think that day is coming. This has nothing to do with Iraq. That was your choice and I respect that. It has more to do with lack of trust. I no longer think that we can trust Europe to be either friend or ally.

It was never about Schroeder for me, or any other government that you would elect. Heck, we had eight years of Clinton and no conservative could be proud of that administration. This is a people to people thing that we have lost. We no longer have a connection on a personal level. I find that sad

[Wiz]

I rather see weak ties as SPD interferes, but at least better than the days when SPD was in power with the Green Party.

[Mi-kha-el]

Reasonable politicians realise that w/o America they are left defenceless, pretty much along the lines of the UK during WWII. Who are they going to turn to for help when push comes to shove, Russia, France?