Merkel zooms in on US
2005-11-27 12:11
Berlin - The United States is hopeful that new German Chancellor Angela Merkel will help make all of Europe a more reliable partner for Washington, analysts said here ahead of her foreign minister's first US trip on Monday.
Merkel has left no doubt in her first days as chancellor that she intends to mend ties with Washington that were severely strained under her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder because of his joint opposition with France to the US-led war in Iraq.
She will not reverse German policy on Iraq, but in Brussels a day after taking office she invited the United States to engage in more dialogue with the European powers through the traditional forum of Nato.
The transatlantic military alliance was also a "political alliance" and "the place where people turn first" to discuss problems, Merkel said.
Her stance firmed up Washington's hopes for a detente.
"Merkel is not going to send troops to Iraq and nobody expects her to," Gary Smith, the director of the American Academy in Berlin, said on Friday.
"What Washington cares about is that countries take their share of responsibility in the world ... it looks at countries in terms of how they can help to get work done. Merkel has understood this very well."
The Iranian nuclear crisis was one example of a problem area where Washington thinks it can rely on Germany, and therefore on Europe, to find a multilateral solution.
Restore US ties
Unlike French President Jacques Chirac, Merkel does not subscribe to the view that Europe should be a "counterweight" to US power, Smith said, and was looking to restore Germany to its pre-Schroeder position as a bridge between the continent and Washington.
Berlin could therefore be counted upon to cultivate a "more sober" relationship with Paris and closer ties with the newer members of the European Union, who found themselves having to choose between Washington and EU heavyweights France and Germany on Iraq.
"If Germany accepts a leadership role in the European Union, that could have an impact on the US-European relationship," Smith told AFP.
"The United States is insisting that Europe overcome its problems that are preventing cohesion on the continent. Merkel could help take it to the next level."
In Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who begins a two-day US visit to New York and Washington on Monday, she has found a "pragmatist not an ideologue" whose appointment "was welcomed in Washington", Smith said.
Steinmeier will meet UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Jewish leaders in New York before moving on to the capital for talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Bush talks
Merkel, who is no stranger to Washington, is expected to follow in late January for talks with US President George W Bush.
Martin Koopmann from the German Council on foreign relations said Merkel's transatlantic policies would work for the good of all of Europe - not only would she seek consensus between EU members but she could win the bloc a more receptive ear in Washington.
"What I expect of Merkel and Steinmeier is the capacity to speak more freely to the United States and to give weight in Washington to not only Germany's views, but also those of Europe," he said.
Merkel's power-sharing government, he added, "will do everything it can to reach a European consensus by talking with France, Britain and Poland before taking any foreign policy decision".
But he warned that this would still leave Europe far from agreement with Washington on many international issues, notably the environment, the UN's International Criminal Court and military intervention.
Many commentators have remarked that, having grown up behind the Iron Curtain, Merkel's foreign policy may be free from the sentimentality of some of her European peers.
"Her approach is very pragmatic and very carefully thought-out," Koopmann said, but it could yet find favour with Paris.
"It is also very positive for France's conception of a strong Europe," he added.