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[109]

Germany goes unilateralist
(Filed: 19/09/2002)


Whoever wins the general election in Germany this Sunday, the losers will be the German people.

This campaign has been disastrous for the country`s reputation abroad, a reputation which had been carefully cultivated since the inception of the Federal Republic by statesmen of the calibre of Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl, for whom the Atlantic alliance was the cornerstone of German foreign policy. The German electorate agreed: every time politicians pandered to anti-Americanism, they lost.

This time, it has been different. Chancellor Schröder and his challenger, Edmund Stoiber, are both canny provincial politicians, but there is nothing statesmanlike about either. Mr Schröder has failed even to diagnose the German malaise - low growth, red tape, high taxes, high unemployment - let alone to cure it.

Until recently the polls showed the opposition consistently ahead. With defeat staring him in the face, Mr Schröder had a stroke of luck. The floods that devastated much of east Germany enabled him to demonstrate generosity to the victims. Television debates with Mr Stoiber gave him the opportunity to shift the focus away from the economy and on to foreign affairs.

Mr Schröder did not, however, reiterate the pro-Western foreign policy that had served him and his popular foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, so well in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Instead, he abandoned it in favour of a "German path" of absolute opposition to war against Iraq. Mr Stoiber failed to pick up the gauntlet: he gave a muddled impression because he was too timid to back President Bush robustly.

When the American ambassador protested, Mr Schröder went further. Germany would withdraw troops stationed in Kuwait, it would not help pay for a war (as it had done in 1991, despite being in the throes of reunification), it would even ignore a United Nations resolution. Despite having infuriated not just Washington but Paris and London, too, Mr Schröder found his popularity soaring - not only at home, but also in Baghdad.

This acrimonious and polarised election is now too close to call. As much will depend on behind-the-scenes deals between the parties as on the voters. It may be that Mr Schröder, if he is re-elected, will abandon his "German path" and tiptoe back into the Western camp. Even so, the damage has been done. Trust in Germany as a reliable ally has been shattered. It was Bismarck who once said that the secret of politics was to do a deal with Russia, but Mr Schröder`s perfidy has ensured that his close relations with President Putin will now arouse suspicion: shades of Rathenau and Ribbentrop still haunt Russo-German relations.

After Mr Schröder`s open contempt for UN resolutions on Iraq, there can now be no question of Britain, France and America allowing Germany to become one of the permanent members of the Security Council. The immaturity of the ageing student radicals who now rule Germany will cost their countrymen dear. The price - isolation - will be paid for years to come.



Vielen Dank, Herr Schröder!

[echtzeit]

Kohl lässt grüssen:

[109]

Berlin (dpa) - A minister in German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder`s cabinet compared U.S. President George W. Bush`s methods to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, a newspaper report said Thursday.

Speaking to trade unionists in talks mistakenly believed off the record, Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin said Bush`s desire to wage war on Iraq was not due to oil.

``The Americans have enough oil,`` said Daeubler-Gmelin, as quoted by the Schwaebische Tageblatt paper adding: ``Bush wants to distract attention from his domestic problems. This is a popular method. Hitler also used it.``

Only after some of the unionists questioned this assertion did Daeubler-Gmelin add: ``I did not equate Bush with Hitler.``

But the minister then continued her criticism of Bush and the United States. ``The (U.S.) has a lousy legal system,`` said Daeubler-Gmelin as quoted by the paper.

She said if current American laws aimed at insider trading had been in force in 1980s when the president worked in the oil sector: ``Bush would be sitting in prison today.``

The report said Daeubler-Gmelin had not known a works council journalist from the newspaper was at the meeting held in the western city of Tuebingen and that she later phoned the paper to stress she had not compared Bush to Hitler.

In a statement, the German Justice Ministry tried to pour cold water on the entire story by describing it as ``absurd`` and the product of small-town ``local reporter.

But there was no explicit denial of the Hitler comment in the one page statement.

Daeubler-Gmelin is known for her sharp tongue. A member of Schroeder`s Social Democrats (SPD) in parliament told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that her nickname is a word-play on her double-barrelled name: ``Daeubler-Gemein`` (Daeubler-Nasty).

Opposition conservatives demanded that Schroeder sack the minister for the comments.

``Those who compare Bush with Hitler and then say he`s a criminal do great damage to Gemany,`` said Micael Glos, parliamentary leader of the opposition Christian Social Union (CSU).

Glos said Daeubler-Gmelin`s comments were the new high point of Schroeder`s anti-American campaign aimed at this Sunday`s German general election.

Schroeder has made opposition to the United States over an Iraq war a central plank of his reelection bid.

The Social Democratic (SPD) chancellor has vowed not to send German troops to fight in any war against Iraq and refuses to say if he would allow the U.S. to use its German bases and overfly rights for any such conflict.

Schroeder, who had been trailing, now has a narrow lead over his conservative challenger, Edmund Stoiber, according to four out of Germany`s top five opinion polls.

Explaining the chancellor`s surging support, the news weekly Der Spiegel said: ``Schroeder`s clear position, skilfully mixed with anti-American sentiments, is drawing leftists, nationalist rightists and especially people in (former communist East Germany).``


Vielen Dank, Herr Schröder

[Orgasmus]

Auch wenn diese Analyse nicht so ganz fundamental erscheint, so ist ein Fünkchen Wahrheit dran. Besonders der Satz "Chancellor Schröder and his challenger, Edmund Stoiber, are both canny provincial politicians..." lädt zum Schmunzeln ein.

[caiox]

..oje oje oje... ...mir scheint unsere lieben Politiker verkennen in letzter Zeit sehr oft, wie uns das Ausland aufnimmt..

[MegaMotzer]

Was ist das doch bloß für ein Kindergarten?
Frei nach dem Motto: Ihr wolltet nicht so wie wir wollen, also seit ihr jetzt Außenseiter, Ätsch.
Diese scheiß amerikanische Regierung und diese scheiß Medienmogule.
Dort entsteht der 3. Weltkrieg! Und nirgendwo anders!

[Pitu]

Wahlwitz:

Stoiber ist zu Gast bei der Queen in London. Nach ein bisschen
Small-Talk fragt er die Queen, was das Geheimnis ihres großen Erfolges
ist.
Die Queen meint, man müsse nur viele intelligente Leute um sich herum
haben.

"Wie wissen Sie so schnell, ob wer intelligent ist?" fragt Stoiber.
"Lassen Sie es mich demonstrieren", antwortet die Queen. Sie greift
zum Telefon, ruft Toni Blair an und stellt ihm eine Frage:
"Mr. Premier Minister. Es ist der Sohn ihres Vaters, ist aber nicht ihr
Bruder.
Wer ist es?"
Ohne zu zögern antwortet Toni Blair: "Ganz einfach, das bin ich!"
"Sehen Sie," sagt die Queen, "so teste ich die Intelligenz der Leute,
die um mich herum sind."
Begeistert fliegt Stoiber zurück nach Deutschland. Zu Hause
angekommen, ruft er sofort Schröder an, um ihm dieselbe Frage zu stellen.
"Es ist der Sohn deines Vaters, ist aber nicht dein Bruder. Wer ist es?"
Nach langem hin und her sagt Schröder: "Ich habe keine Ahnung, ich
werde aber versuchen, die Antwort bis morgen herauszufinden!"
Schröder kommt und kommt nicht drauf und ruft letztendlich bei Fischer an.
"Es ist der Sohn deines Vaters, ist aber nicht dein Bruder. Wer ist es?"
fragt er Fischer.
"Ganz leicht, das bin ich!"
Glücklich die Antwort gefunden zu haben, ruft Schröder bei Stoiber an
und jubelt: "Ich hab die Antwort, es ist der Fischer!"
Stoiber brüllt ihn total entsetzt an: "Nein, Du Trottel, es ist Toni
Blair!"