Thursday, October 9, 2008

Repairing Relations: Germany

TW: I posted on Oct 1 about European Schadenfreude. This article about German political ambiguity regarding Russia speaks to the need for the US and Germany (amongst others) to get their relationship back toward the strength it exhibited pre-W. Bush. This effort will have to be bilateral as the Germans themselves are increasingly viewing the world through a dubious lens. Former German President Gerhard Schroeder has become a staunch Russian lobbyist, one of his acolytes is running for the Presidency next year.

From Int'l Herald Tribune:
"Could you get elected German chancellor Sept. 27 next year if your opponents say your goals are "emancipating" Germany and Europe from the United States, and setting a policy course for a Europe "equidistant" between Russia and the Americans?...A Germany described as ready to steer a middle-of-the-road route between Moscow and Washington would terrify much of Europe...after covering a Schröder talk about the Georgia crisis at a private gathering in Berlin the week before last, a reporter for the left-of-center Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote, "It was as if the Russian ambassador were speaking."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/15/europe/politicus.php

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