| Background piece, to the extent that Europe matters. |
Germany's chancellor designate, Angela Merkel, yesterday signalled a new era for the country's foreign policy, including a "fresh start" with the US and looser ties with Paris and Moscow. Mrs Merkel intends to repair relations with Washington after the row between her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, and George Bush over Iraq, her aides said over the weekend. She also promised a transformation in Germany's relationship with its two closest allies, Russia and France.
Mrs Merkel wants "more distance" with Moscow and a looser, less exclusive alliance with France's president, Jacques Chirac, officials from her Christian Democratic party told the magazine Der Spiegel. She also wants to improve relations with the new EU states in eastern Europe, especially Poland, they added.
Mrs Merkel's aides also held out the prospect of Germany playing a "moderating" role in Europe - able to adjudicate between competing national interests within a vastly expanded EU. "The transformation will be subtle, but carried out with the full authority of the chancellor," a senior Merkel official said.
There was no mention of Britain. But Mrs Merkel's apparent determination to draw a line under the Schröder era is likely to delight Downing Street, which is trying to broker a deal over the EU budget. The issue provoked a furious row in June between Tony Blair and Mr Chirac. Mr Schröder, Mr Chirac's closest ally, criticised Britain's refusal to compromise on its rebate, and last week dismissed Mr Blair's attempts to reform the EU as irrelevant. The prime minister had hoped that Mrs Merkel would attend last week's EU summit at Hampton Court. Instead, after Germany's deadlocked election, Mr Schröder came in her place, ridiculing Mr Blair's attempts to introduce "Anglo-Saxon" economics to the rest of Europe.
Leading politicians from Mr Schröder's Social Democrats yesterday cast doubt on Mrs Merkel's ability to transform German foreign policy when she takes office next month. Coalition negotiations between Mrs Merkel's party and the SPD are continuing, with Mrs Merkel likely to be formally appointed chancellor after a vote in parliament on November 22.
However, the Social Democrats will hold on to the post of foreign minister. They have nominated Frank-Walter Steinmeier - a lawyer and confidant of Mr Schröder whose command of English is inferior to that of his predecessor, the dazzling Joschka Fischer. Although Mrs Merkel would be able to set "accents" in foreign policy, the "main thrust" would come from the SPD, the party's deputy leader, Gernot Erler, said at the weekend. |