![]() ![]() Scholz also failed to reign in the motley crew of pro-Kremlin voices from within his own Social Democratic Party ( SPD) and the opposition Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union, including Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, a former chancellor hopeful who cautioned against “ever new threats and ever tougher sanctions” against Russia. senators to vote to waive sanctions against Germany over this very pipeline added to the fury in Washington. The fact that German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht tried to take Nord Stream 2 sanctions off the table the same day the Biden administration asked U.S. Scholz did talk about the “high price” Russian leader Vladimir Putin would pay but sowed doubts about his determination by continuing to label the highly contested Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany a private business project. For a long time it was unclear what actions Germany was willing to support to deter the Kremlin from staging another major invasion. He failed to communicate a clear course vis-à-vis Russia’s threats against Ukraine. That explains why Scholz took a hands-off approach when the crisis with Russia hit right during the first weeks of his chancellorship. Scholz’s closest advisors see him as “Angela Merkel with a plan.” Unlike Merkel, who contented herself with diligently dealing with the many crises coming her way, Scholz came to office determined to pursue a long-term agenda of an equitable digital and post-carbon transformation not just of Germany’s industry but also of politics and society in a stronger Europe.īut international security was never near the top of his agenda. This is the global flip side of Scholz’s domestic agenda for a modernization decade that he thinks Germany badly needs after too much stasis under Merkel. He would have preferred to focus his Washington trip on his priorities for Germany’s G‑ 7 presidency under the slogan “progress toward an equitable world,” including a “climate club” of pioneering states. It’s these sorts of issues that are unrelated to hard security that Scholz is most passionate about. When he was in Washington last October as finance minister, he celebrated the agreement on a global corporate minimum tax he helped to broker with his U.S. ![]() This is not how Scholz had envisaged his first U.S. As a trans-Atlantic-minded centrist, he is well placed to do so with a clear message on Russia sanctions, contributing more to NATO defense capabilities, and a joint agenda on China. Scholz’s central mission for his Washington visit has to be restoring German credibility. Last week, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks called Germany’s stance on Russia and China “immoral and hypocritical.” Germany’s Eastern European partners are more direct. Many in the Biden administration share misgivings about Berlin’s stance, although they put on a brave face publicly. Last week, Emily Haber, Germany’s ambassador to the United States, sent a cable to Berlin warning that many in the United States see Germany as an “unreliable partner.” Republicans in Congress, Haber telegraphed, see Germany as “in bed with Putin” warning of “immense” damage to Germany’s reputation. In recent months, Germany’s reputation has declined precipitously given what many decry as Berlin’s wobbly stance vis-à-vis both the Kremlin and Beijing. President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday, these words will sound like a memory from a distant past. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared: “I think it’s fair to say that the United States has no better partner, no better friend in the world than Germany.” When Merkel’s successor Olaf Scholz meets U.S. Standing next to then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel last June, U.S.
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