BERLIN, 23 January 2004 — Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is steering Germany into a more dynamic foreign policy role after a year locked in the “non-nein-nyet” trio with fellow Iraq war opponents France and Russia.
Germany, which opposed the US-led war in Iraq and refused to send any troops, is about to train Iraqi police and now says it would be willing to dispatch army doctors to Iraq if a future Iraqi government asked for assistance. Defense Minister Peter Struck has announced plans to transform the army into a force more geared toward peacekeeping and rapid reaction, as neighbors have urged it to do for years.
Schroeder is touring Africa this week stressing the need for security on the first extended visit to the continent by a German leader in over a decade. A beaming Schroeder told his Social Democrats at a new year reception this month that Newsweek magazine rated Germany as the world’s second most powerful nation, the ranking a result not just of economic might, but also diplomatic strength. Ingo Peters, international politics expert at Berlin’s Free University, says German foreign policy is back on track after the tensions of the past year when its close adherence to France’s anti-war line angered America and risked undermining a US-German alliance that has underpinned Euro-American relations since the end of World War II. “It’s made easier by the fact that the question of war or peace is in the past,” Peters said. “There’s a sense of laying the groundwork for the next talks with (President George) Bush,” he added.
Since gaining office in 1998, Schroeder has pioneered a more active, self-confident foreign policy after decades on the sidelines atoning for World War II crimes and relying on US protection during the Cold War. Under Schroeder, German troops saw their first involvement in foreign conflicts since World War II in the 1999 Kosovo war and Afghanistan in 2001. Germany currently has around 10,000 troops stationed abroad in peacekeeping operations. Germany hopes the greater responsibility will bring more influence. Since unification, it has lobbied for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Schroeder will this June become the first German chancellor to attend a commemoration of the 1944 D-Day landings after securing an invitation from France.
A key challenge in the year ahead, says Michael Kriele, a professor at Humboldt University in Berlin, will be to repair fully ties with Washington damaged over the Iraq war. Warming noises about bolstering America’s war on terrorism will help. From March, German police will begin training their Iraqi counterparts, albeit only in the United Arab Emirates. Germany also plans to increase its contingent in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. Martin Koopmann, a fellow of the German Council of Foreign Relations, argues that Schroeder’s foray into Africa stems from a focus on security. “The main accent for Africa is a new focus on anti-terror where it had been more on development aid, although there is a link between the two,” Koopmann said.
Germany’s interests in Africa could widen further in the year ahead. A junior foreign minister said last month Germany would consider sending troops to Sudan if warring parties agreed to end a 20-year civil conflict. Germany’s military reforms, including the development of rapid reaction forces, should ready it for such tasks.
In Europe, the hangover from Iraq divisions is also still felt. France and Germany may remain the EU’s driving force, but analysts say have lost their ability to push through ideas. “They must work harder at winning majorities, at binding in other states. The splits in the EU have shown they must cooperate differently in future,” Koopmann said.
However, while foreign policy may represent an easier chance for Schroeder to make his mark than at home, it offers little hope of reviving his depressed opinion poll ratings. To force through all his changes, the chancellor is sure to need another term in office.
Schroeder’s Social Democrats scored a record low of 28 percent of the potential vote, according to an opinion poll released this month by the Electoral Research Group. “It’s the lowest level since we started measuring in 1977. Top of people’s concerns is unemployment... Foreign policy seldom features,” a polling official said.
