Erstellt am: 09.02.2006 Autor: Ulf Gartzke Status: Bisher nicht definiert
What Canada’s Prime Minister can learn from the German Chancellor
When recharting Canada's foreign policy vis-à-vis the United States, Stephen Harper's Conservative minority government should look across the Atlantic to draw valuable lessons from Germany's new Chancellor, Angela Merkel. After all, the two countries and their new conservative leaders are in strikingly similar situations.
First, the previous governments in Ottawa and Berlin opposed the U.S. intervention in Iraq, thus breaking with decades of close political and military alignment with Washington. At the same time, however, Canadian and German forces are heavily engaged in Afghanistan.
Secondly, domestic opposition to the United States, in general -- and to the Bush administration, in particular -- stands at record highs in Canada and Germany.
Third, both Stephen Harper and Ms. Merkel have limited political leeway, as they failed to achieve outright majorities in their respective general elections. While Mr. Harper only scrambled enough votes together for a minority government, Ms. Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) parties were forced into a "Grand Coalition" with the leftist Social Democrats (SPD) of former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder -- in essence, a conservative minority government tolerated by the left.
Finally, both Mr. Harper and Ms. Merkel share a common desire to revitalize and strengthen bilateral relations with the United States. In fact, since coming into office three months ago, Chancellor Merkel has already managed to repair transatlantic ties with the Americans, while increasing her popularity at home.
So how did she pull it off and what lessons can Stephen Harper learn from Angela Merkel?
Manage expectations: Given their deep-seated mistrust and resentment vis-à-vis the Schroeder government, top U.S. officials can be forgiven for having had overly optimistic expectations about the post regime change of outlook in Berlin. But Ms. Merkel made it clear right from the start: No German combat troops will be sent to Iraq. Ultimately, the Bush administration respected her domestic political constraints and dropped the issue. Mr. Harper also made his opposition to Canadian troops in Iraq known during his campaign.
Highlight military role: About 3,000 German troops are currently deployed in Afghanistan and Canada is set to triple its forces to 2,200 this month. But apart from having well-trained and capable boots on the ground, it's the institutional framework for the use of force that matters and must be highlighted. Ms. Merkel convinced Washington that she is serious about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Bush administration gave her the benefit of the doubt and is now watching closely what its NATO allies can really deliver, above all in Afghanistan. Mr. Harper's plan to sharply increase defence spending is already an important step in the right direction. So would be Canada's potential -- though ultimately largely symbolic -- decision to join Washington's ballistic missile defence system. In the end, capable NATO partners who are taken seriously by Washington are the most effective check on U.S. unilateralism.
Embrace freedom agenda: During her first visit to Washington as German Chancellor this January, Ms. Merkel spoke passionately about the fundamental importance of freedom, both in economic and political terms. She did more than just call on her own countrymen "to dare more freedom" to remain competitive in today's globalized economy. Having lived in Communist East Germany for 36 years, Ms. Merkel also intuitively grasped the President's ambitious vision for democracy and human rights in the Middle East and beyond. Ms. Merkel had a 45-minute one-on-one meeting with Mr. Bush and gained his trust. Given Mr. Harper's philosophical groundings and his push for more economic freedom and reforms at home, he is in a strong position to connect with Mr. Bush and offer his country's valuable support for the promotion of freedom, democracy and human rights around the world.
Pick your moments: It's only worth publicly confronting the Bush administration on select issues that -- while important to voters back home -- do not risk damaging the bilateral relationship. Chancellor Merkel, for instance, directly called on President Bush to rethink his policy on Guantanamo, which, along with Abu Ghraib, is one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of America's tarnished public image and unprecedented loss of moral credibility in recent history.
It is in America's own enlightened self-interest, so Ms. Merkel's message went, to quickly clean up the Guantanamo mess in order to regain the offensive on the crucial public-diplomacy front. The German media lauded Ms. Merkel's courage to tackle tough issues, allowing her to boast record public-approval ratings, currently in the 85-per-cent range. Interestingly enough, no one in Germany seemed to care that Mr. Bush did not make any concessions on Guantanamo.
Mr. Harper should pursue a similar strategy, further turning the rhetorical heat up on Washington over the infamous softwood-lumber dispute; for many Canadians, the symbol of American arrogance and rogue-nation conduct. It is important to tell the Bush administration that its position on softwood lumber is not only unacceptable and untenable, but also contrary to the interests of many U.S. home-buyers, who are burdened with thousands of dollars of extra costs per house.
Privately, former senior Bush administration officials already concede their policy is wrong-headed. The ongoing multibillion-dollar reconstruction effort in the wake of hurricane Katrina may finally provide Mr. Bush with the necessary face-saving exit strategy to change course.
In her first 100 days in office, Angela Merkel has managed to pursue the right policy mix of reaching out and engaging, as well as confronting, the Bush administration. Stephen Harper should take a page from her when dealing with Canada's southern neighbour.
