Chancellor Merkel: The Opportunity
By Dr. Jackson Janes

For the first time in German history, a woman will lead the nation. Angela Merkel was elected today with a comfortable majority in the Bundestag.

The coalition with the Social Democrats commands more than two-thirds of the Parliament, but not all of the coalition representatives gave Merkel their vote this morning. Fifty-one voted against her, a sign that maintaining a consensus in this so-called grand coalition is not going to be easy. Chancellor Merkel will have the dual challenge of making sure her parliamentary coalition works while leading the German voters through a tough period of belt-tightening reforms. She has an opportunity that may be unique.

The Chancellor will face an agenda made up of the domestic policies that need to be addressed and where political minefields are likely to be found. Finding common ground on policy issues like social security, health care, deficit reduction, and taxes was the basis for the formal agreement that formed the coalition and established Ms. Merkel as Chancellor. Now the implementation phase of those policies has to begin.

Party leaders from both sides have been saying that they have to work together to succeed or face the danger of failing together. Emphasis has been placed on pragmatic approaches. The cabinet, it is argued, is made up of experienced professionals focused on getting the job done in the interest of the country, not just the party. That said, everyone is going to have to make adjustments.

The foreign policy arena is not going to be one in which the two sides of the coalition will seriously clash. That was an area in which they found agreement relatively quickly. The new Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will maintain the coordinates of German foreign policy with regard to the areas where Germany is already engaged: in the Balkans, Afghanistan, the Middle East. Negotiations with Turkey over EU membership need not be an immediate problem. Germany's role in Europe will continue to be of central importance for the future of the EU, including the importance of Brussels in dealing with transatlantic relations or with world trade issues.

Finding the balance between a more integrated European Union and transatlantic ties is an equation made ever more complicated by the mixture of economic competition, the increasing asymmetry of military power across the Atlantic, and the unfolding of new global challenges and threats. But there is no reason why a balance among goals, policies, and styles cannot be found if the will is there. That will require skill in Washington to upgrade its relations with Berlin as Chancellor Merkel begins her term in office.

Merkel and her team should be good news for Washington. The Chancellor wants to reaffirm that a stronger Europe is a definite advantage for transatlantic relations. Working to make Europe more capable of responding to regional and global challenges is a goal that serves German interests. Working to strengthen German economic growth serves European interests and gives Germany more leverage in Washington.

Those are the political facts. But there is much more to today's story.

Today's events in the Reichstag marked the election of the eighth Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since its beginning in 1949. The fact that the Chancellor is a woman is no doubt unique. More important is the fact that this woman was watching the Berlin Wall come down sixteen years ago in east Berlin and became a part of one of the most important milestones in European history. The unification of Germany in 1990 was also the story of one of the most successful partnerships the United States has ever built with another nation.

Angela Merkel could never have dreamt then that she would be standing where she is today. But most people could not anticipate the events of 1989 and most people should therefore have a healthy respect for the unexpected, as well as a healthy interest in seizing opportunities when they unfold. That was the spirit that moved political mountains in eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa and many other places around the world.

The political agenda for Chancellor Merkel is written into the coalition agreement with the Social Democrats. That is for the politicians.

The agenda for the country is reflected more in the need for a goal, a sense of common purpose, a basis for sacrifice and a promise for what is to be gained. Angela Merkel can deliver that message, as she has lived it. She needs to appeal to both sides of Germany with different memories about the past. She also needs to visualize the future for both.

Can she do that? She is about to try. We must hope for her success; it is an incredible opportunity.

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This essay appeared in the November 22, 2005 AICGS Advisor.

Please direct comments to: jjanes@aicgs.org