Out of the Loop?

If the old adage "a week is a long time in politics" is true, then two months must seem like an eternity. It certainly appears to be the case for Germany.

At the end of June this year, the German government relinquished the reins of the European Union's presidency with applause and platitudes hanging in the balmy Berlin air. The G8 summit in Heiligendamm it hosted in early June as this year's head of the group was seen as a success. But less than eight weeks later, clouds of discontent have settled over the German capital and the chill blowing down its wide streets has more to do with an international cold shoulder than the onset of fall.

The perceived spurn was all the more surprising since in the first six months of 2007, Angela Merkel's government managed to drive a reluctant EU and a stubborn G8 down the road of multilateralism.

The notoriously fractious EU states were strapped together in unity around a European climate protection program and were rallied into a series of reforms; no mean feat by anyone's standards. More impressively, Germany managed to get the United States to sign on to an international climate accord in Heiligendamm.

Less publicly, Germany worked hard to secure peace in the Middle East, the release of hostages in Afghanistan and the freedom of Bulgarian nurses on Death Row in Libya among other diplomatic efforts around the world.

When it came to handing over the power, Merkel and her team were satisfied that Germany had played a significant role in setting a new multilateral, international agenda, and created diplomatic structures for its successors to build on. All in all, it had been a successful tenure, as approval ratings and commentaries proved.

But although they once were the ones setting the agenda, Merkel and Co. now are left to read in the newspapers the outcome of decisions they should have been closely involved in.

Blair appointment

During its EU presidency, Germany was very active in the Middle East. Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier both made numerous visits to the region, attempting to persuade Israel and the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, supporting the fragile democracy in Lebanon and maintaining an even-handed EU involvement in the surrounding countries.

Merkel had made the Middle East her main foreign-affairs focus at the start of the EU presidency, continuing a German belief that a secure Middle East meant a secure Europe.

However, just days before Germany's role as head of the EU came to an end, the so-called Middle East quartet (the US, the EU, Russia and the UN) announced that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair would be its special envoy to the region. Steinmeier's reaction suggested that it had been less a quartet decision and more the work of a trio, with Germany as EU representative cut out of the loop. His remonstrations with his quartet colleagues were widely reported.

Despite Merkel's denials of a rift, it was clear that Germany had not been consulted on Blair's appointment, which was reportedly first made known to the government in a front page headline.

But Amelia Torres, acting spokesperson for the European Commission, said that no German dissatisfaction was registered in Brussels.

"The Commission is not aware of (the German) claims and, as far as we are concerned, all the decisions involving the European Union were taken in consultation with all EU partners," she said.

Still, Germany's leadership, at least in the eyes of Berlin, was being challenged and its credibility as a global player undermined.

IMF appointment rushed through by France

Two weeks later, the Germans got another surprise. While the appointment of former French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had been proposed by recently elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany had been cautious about his candidacy. Sarkozy's intentions concerning European financial institutions and policies had caused concern in Berlin and a move to install Strauss-Kahn had increased the jitters. When it was announced that Strauss-Kahn had the IMF job, it was the media once again who informed Germany.

"It's worth pointing out that Germany was by no means the only country that felt 'under-consulted' on these developments," said Bastian Giegerich from the International Center for Strategic Studies. "French and US activism surprised other partners, such as the British, Italians and Spaniards just as much. In the cases of the Strauss-Kahn and Blair decisions, presidents Sarkozy and Bush chose to push choices aggressively."

Michael Link, a member of the opposition free-market liberal FDP's faction in the Bundestag and his party's EU expert, insisted that there was no snub over the IMF job.

"Germany was involved," he said. "And Germany has had, at several instances, debated all sorts of critical issues in a very open way with the new French administration."

Germany, however, was still convinced it was being pushed further to the sidelines.

Sarkozys steal limelight in Libya

More French-inspired aggravation was to follow. During his numerous visits to the Middle East, Steinmeier had been working together with the EU's External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner to secure the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of infecting children with HIV in Libya.

Steinmeier and Ferrero-Waldner were campaigning together against the death sentence issued to the six medics up until Germany's EU presidency expired. It was assumed that the efforts would then be continued by Luis Amado, the foreign minister of succeeding EU president, Portugal.

Imagine Germany's surprise when President Sarkozy's wife Cecilia appeared on the steps of a French aircraft to present the newly free nurses to the world media while her husband shook hands and made deals with Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli.

While the German foreign ministry once again made calming noises, individual politicians were livid. Some went public with claims that President Sarkozy had only made a move to free the nurses to win contracts in Libya while others called for France to realign itself with European interests, and not just focus on its own.

"Regarding the release of the Bulgarian nurses," Giegerich added, "I think the feeling in Berlin is that Germany had done a lot of very constructive behind-the-scenes work which ultimately contributed to the release and Sarkozy stole the limelight, which of course leaves a bitter taste."

"The pictures of the release of the Bulgarian nurses fitted the whole image of this Libyan justice scandal: théâtre absurde," the FDP's Michael Link added. "Minister Steinmeier worked hard for that release. The real progress was made during the German EU presidency. That's what counts. And everybody in the EU knows that."

In each of these cases, the situation was resolved with a welcome outcome for many. Blair will push for peace in the Middle East, Strauss-Kahn will head the IMF with European influence, and the Bulgarian nurses have their freedom. For the German government, it might be a case of credit not given where credit was due. But was Germany really ignored?

An end to Germany's multilateralist approach?

"While it would not be completely accurate to say that Germany was ignored in any of these cases, the way in which these events occurred stands in fairly sharp contrast to the consensus-building and mediating character of current German foreign policy under Chancellor Merkel's leadership," Giegerich said.

"The question for the future is thus whether Merkel's mode of policy-making, which has been successful so far both domestically and internationally, is sustainable," he added.

But Link said he believes that Germany has nothing to worry about.

"The German government has overcome the shortcomings of the narrow and self-sufficient foreign-policy activities of Messrs. Schröder and Fischer," he said. "And Germany’s role as largest EU member should always be an integrating one, not a polarizing one. But nothing in international politics is for granted. Our government must work hard in order to increase that role."