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| Europe |
| Bush meeting with CDU signals hope of improved relations |
| 2005-07-28 |
| George W. Bush, US president, on Wednesday signalled US hopes of a smoother relationship with Germany by holding an unexpected meeting with a leading figure in the opposition Christian Democratic Union just two months before Germans go to the polls. Those famous "unexpected presidential drop ins"... Wolfgang SchÀuble, the top foreign policy expert to Angela Merkel the CDU leader expected to be elected the next German chancellor told reporters he spoke with Mr Bush for 45 minutes in the Oval Office. He also met Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, and Stephen Hadley, national security adviser. The red carpet treatment for Mr SchÀuble, though discreet, underlines the expectations in the White House that Chancellor Gerhard Schröder will be defeated and that the CDU will adopt a more traditional Atlanticist approach to the US. The CDU election manifesto says a ânew startâ to US-German relations would be a cornerstone of a Merkel-led administration, following the strain over Germany's opposition to the Iraq war and other issues, such as the International Criminal Court. In private, US officials say few tears will be shed in the White House should Mr Schröder lose, although they stress that US-German relations had improved over the past year. In private? LOL |
| Posted by:True German Ally |
| #5 TGA - I remember the Baader-Meinhof gang and their It appeared to me at the time that the Germans seemed resigned to it, almost accepting - not pissed off, like Americans generally would be at the same thing. What do you think the reaction of the average German will be when the moslems start blowing up people there? It's not like they can blame it on Iraq, like the usual suspects and fellow travelers in England are trying to do. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-07-28 18:36 |
| #4 Well Nile Gardiner says: âI don't think a Merkel administration will fundamentally alter the relationship. It will somewhat improve it, but we won't see a revolution in German foreign policy. We will see an administration just as wedded to further political and economic integration in Europe and not inclined to support the US in overseas adventures.â Well Germany won't and can't give up European integration but it will try to return to the old balance between France and the US. "Overseas adventures" sounds a bit strange. I see more German participation in international missions but don't expect German divisions marching into Iraq or Iran anytime soon. But nobody knows how the War on Terror will evolve. Bavaria's Interior Minister Beckstein said that a terrorist attack on Germany will happen, it's just a question of how and when. After that, we'll see. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2005-07-28 14:30 |
| #3 CDU leader Angela Merkel grew up in East Germany under Honecker... That gives her a perspective some wouldn't have... In foreign policy terms, being what goes for "Conservative" in Germany, things just might get better... |
| Posted by: BigEd 2005-07-28 11:41 |
| #2 For my money, I agree with Gardiner. There is only so much that a different regime can do, given the large portion of the German populace that are anti-American. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-07-28 05:59 |
| #1 TGA - what do you make of this? I found the statement by Nile Gardiner - some analyst with the Heritage Foundation of particular interest... Seems to be seriously at odds with your take, or at least as I understood your thoughts. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-28 03:15 |