Germany after Poll: Markel's New Agenda

Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

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Upon the announcement of results of the German general election on Sept. 27 giving the outgoing regime to continue to rule Germany, now a special veto member of discredited UNSC, The new administration of Chancellor Angela Merkel, going to look a lot like the old one -- both in policies and personnel,  is already setting the agenda on expected lines. The only difference will be how the government's responsibilities are divided up. The liberals will be given their chance to shine in the areas of taxation, education and civil rights, while the Christian Democrats will keep watch over the social welfare state. The once-cautious and wavering Merkel is becoming a gambler. She is now pursuing policies based on borrowing, knowing full well that the mountain of debt on which her strategy is built must eventually come crashing down.

Markel thinks hat-trick mandate was thanks to Germany's economic stimulus packages she introduced, the government-subsidized short-time working program and the cash-for-clunkers scrapping premium had only become a "success story" with the help of labor leaders, Merkel had pledged if she were reelected, there would neither be a weakening of employment protection legislation nor a rolling back of minimum wages or workers' right to a say in how their company is managed. The Left party was certainly taking heart from the opinion polls. The party, which combines disaffected Social Democrats from western Germany with former East German communists, was tipped to get more than 10% of the vote in parliamentary election.

As an advocate of the trade unions, Merkel wants to ensure that the FDP's plans for a "political shift" toward "more self-reliance" do not come to fruition. the key issues of economic and social policy would be discussed  When the liberals and conservatives meet soon for their coalition conference  It has been a week since Germany voted in favor of a coalition government of Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union and the liberal, pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP).

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In this multi-polar world, the US itself has come to the painful realization that it is not enough simply to be the last superpower left standing; one cannot simply impose one's values on others or further one's interests without recrimination. Many in foreign policy apparatus of Germany insist that the country has to strengthen its global image and must refocus on the trans-Atlantic relationship by rebuilding the ties with Washington. German strategists seek to come to a consensus with those who stand next to Germany geographically - in Europe, in the US. They argue has missed out on a golden opportunity to influence the new American geo-strategy This re-examination has gone from loose contemplation of foreign policy to systematic analysis and, where appropriate, to the revision or adaptation of existing policies. President Obama's team has approached American allies in an effort to integrate their positions within new US strategy.

Germany was one of the six founding nations in the original European Economic Community from which the European Union was eventually to develop and in which Germany is a key player. Achieving national unity later than other European nations, Germany quickly caught up economically and militarily, before defeats in World War I and II left the country shattered, facing the difficult legacy of Nazism, and divided between Europe's Cold War blocs. Germany rebounded to become the continent's economic giant, and a prime mover of European cooperation. With the end of the Cold War, the two parts of the country were once again united, but at an economic price that is still being felt. 

The era when Germany was very important in terms of America's foreign policy -- because the Iron Curtain ran straight through the middle of the country -- is over. Today Berlin is important to Washington when it becomes part of the solution (to some international problem in the first few months of his presidency, Obama has stuck closely to the intellectual groundwork laid by his advisors then. Additionally the protagonists involved in that group, the so-called Phoenix Initiative, have since taken up senior positions in Obama's administration -- most prominently Susan Rice, who was the head of the group and who is now the US ambassador to the United Nations, and strategist Anne-Marie Slaughter, who is now director for policy planning for the US State Department. President Obama has never left anyone in any doubt that his first duty is to his fellow Americans. It is the same for every German government, entrusted as they are with the well being of the German people. Just as clear though, is the fact that Germany, Europe and the US have more in common with one another than with any other country.

Germany is founding nation of EU. Germany's international profile has been growing in other areas too. The country sent peacekeepers to the Balkans and its forces have been involved in operations in Afghanistan. The former chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, was a vociferous critic of the launch of US-led operations in Iraq.  One of the leading posters read: �German Troops out of Afghanistan," says one poster on the square". Located in the heart of Western Europe and famed for its technological achievements, Germany is the continent's most industrialized and populous country. The pain of Germany's Nazi-era history remains a sensitive element in the country's collective modern-day psyche and often gives rise unnecessary suspicions among the nations. Goethe, Nietzsche, Kant and Brecht are giants in the world of letters and philosophy. Today, owing to active diplomacy it pursued, Germany is a part of the UNSC veto gang.

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Germany�s deepest economic and financial crisis since World War II has had a sharp impact on the government's coffers.  The chancellor was already wrapping up the first items on the government's future agenda. To begin with, If her timetable is adhered to, FDP leader Guido Westerwelle, who is expected to become the new German foreign minister, could already be getting to know international dignitaries such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown when they attend festivities to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9.

Unilateralism makes all other payers in a dispute or tension scenario irrelevant. Germany, they argue, should reinvent close solidarity with our trans-Atlantic partners when it comes to "thinking globally" and when possible, when it comes to helping shape those global thoughts. The change of government in the US offers Germany a unique chance. One of the issues: Germany says it has a clear policy for the future of the United Nations that goes beyond the current issue of a prestigious seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Of the many new beginnings that Obama has pursued over the last few months there are a number that sit well with our own interests and values. One of these is the attempt to rebuild trust with Russia and thereby encourage Russia -- as well as China -- to take on more international responsibility. Germany has profited like no other country from international d�tente, the kernel of which was disarmament. President Obama deserves our resolute support for his attempts to reduce both nuclear and conventional weapons. And we clearly also share in a desire to defuse conflict in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. For decades these conflicts have poisoned the relationship between different cultures. The top nations just talk about disarmament but they also have to do something about it.

USA is yet to come over the old cold war era mindset and rhetoric plus fake fear. Germany recommends mulipolar world it is vital for the West to reinvent itself in order to enforce common interests on a global level. In a time when the future of global governance lies within formats like the G-8, the G-5, or the G-20, the West needs to seek more consensuses if it wants to further its interests and safeguard its values. This is why Germany needs more engagement in foreign policy, rather than less. Our interests demand an active multi-lateralism solve global problems.

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Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

Specialist on State Terrorism

Independent Researcher in International Affairs, the only Indian to have gone through entire India, a fraud and terror nation in South Asia.