The Joy of Politics

DW-TV: Chancellor Merkel -- six months of the EU Presidency, the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, marathon negotiations in Brussels. With all of that behind you, are you happy to be going on holiday?

Angela Merkel: Well, first of all, I am happy about what we have achieved during our Presidency. It's been an incredibly exciting time -- but also very challenging. Not just I, but all of the members of the cabinet, have gained new insights, have worked very hard, and have worked together very well.

But of course, after such hard work, the prospect of a few days' holiday isn't bad. But this period has been tremendous fun.

You have been celebrated politically as "Miss World," your negotiation skills have been praised at home and abroad. How satisfied are you personally with the results of the last few months?

I, personally, am very satisfied. Through all of these negotiations, we have learned time and again that we have so many friends, partners, and supporters. In the G8, and in the European Union -- with its 27 member states -- you cannot achieve anything on your own, if the others don't believe that the time is right to reach certain decisions. Without that, you are lost. But that was never the case, and that was the most important experience for me.

The EU and the G8 both understand that a lot of things are changing in the world, and that if we want to realize our interests, if you want to be the world leaders in certain fields, then we have to present a united front.

That's something I will never forget, because that is what generates the strength to solve new problems.

With all these things on the agenda -- the reform of the EU constitution, getting that process started again, climate protection, aid for Africa -- there must be some areas where you had hoped to achieve more. Which are they?

Well, it is of course the case that as Europeans, for example, we had much more ambitious goals for the G8. But the main thing for me is not to say where I -- or others -- hoped to achieve more, and others wanted less.

The main point that fills me with such satisfaction is that all these people came from different positions and the final outcome -- both in the European Council and at the G8 summit -- was achieved through personal meetings. It wouldn't have been possible through video-conferencing!

It's those personal meetings that create a climate in which one can say: "Even though we have different opinions, we have to find some common ground, everyone has to be willing to compromise." And I don't then start nagging about what I have had to give up, or not. Together we made progress overall - and that's what counts for me.

Let's just stay for a moment with this compromise that the EU created for itself. It's a very complicated body of rules that allows individual states to work together. But won't it lead to different member states developing at different speeds - that one group of countries wanting greater integration will move ahead?

This new treaty means that in the EU, the European Parliament as a legislative body now has equal rights -- or almost equal rights -- with the European Council. The Commission has the right to propose legislation. Now you have to remember that in the Commission, there are 27 commissioners, one from each member state. The European Parliament has members from all the EU nations. And the treaty provides a basis for us to agree things, even when some member states are not joining in straight away. That's how it is with the Euro, for example.

And it will be the case on domestic and justice policy in future... the option will exist for some member states to put on the brakes and say: "We're not going along with this."

But what we can't allow is for that to lead to different groups of countries doing other things beyond the terms of the treaty -- because that would mean the removal of parliamentary control. I can't send out half of the members of the European Parliament when a vote is taking place, just because they don't belong to the group of countries that want to do something together.

So that means that we need a joint contract that lays down the rules - and if we want to vote on things together, then we need to know what those rules are. And you can't then form two groups that do things differently. So there may be certain points where there is a "two-track Europe" -- but that can never be the answer to the question of how Europe can develop further.

If you want to fight climate change, represent Europe's interests at world trade talks, protect intellectual property -- you can only do all that as one European Union, and not at two different speeds.

Frau Merkel -- after the summer recess, international politics will be a little lower on the agenda, and German domestic policy will be centre stage again. How are things at the moment with your coalition partners, the Social Democrats? What's the mood like in the grand coalition?

Well to be honest, I find this differentiation between foreign policy and domestic policy has become somewhat short-sighted these days. There are very few things that can still be divided up so simply. If I am dealing with patent laws in Germany, if I am supporting initiatives of excellence, if I am trying to ensure that 3 percent of our gross domestic product goes to research -- then I can't say that's just domestic policy. We also have to protect our intellectual property worldwide. Domestic and foreign policy are inextricably linked.

If you're talking about the lifting of the monopoly on mail deliveries in Germany -- then there are immediate consequences in terms of the EU rules, and what other European countries are doing. You can't just look at international politics and say: "That's all red carpets, and the rest isn't." It's not like that any more in the real world of politics.

Secondly, in terms of what is possible to legislate here in Germany, we have a great deal planned in terms of fundamental policies. We have now agreed on a reform of the system of nursing care for the elderly. In the second half of the year, we are going to discuss ways of enabling workers to participate in corporate profits. That's a huge project.

We need to clarify the situation with accident insurance. We'll be facing the challenge of combining energy policy with targets on climate protection. There'll be a summit on integration, with the first coherent proposals from both the federal states and the central government on how to improve integration in Germany. So the coalition has a lot left to do, and of course I am looking forward to making all of these things happen -- just as we will continue to play an intensive role in Europe.

For my last question, I'd like to just dig a little deeper. Your coalition partner is not doing well in opinion polls, and the new Left Party presents a mathematical challenge, at least, to the continued existence of your government, and is making advances to the SPD. Is that not a bit of a political headache?

My main concern is to ensure that our government, our grand coalition, with its solid majority in the German parliament, is able to fulfill all that is expected of it. Unemployment is falling. It's already down to 3.8 million, that's a huge success. Joblessness among young people is down by 25 percent. And the more such successes we can demonstrate, the more we can be seen acting together in the coaltion, the more that will send the signal that others are merely making promises that they cannot keep.

I think the people of this country will realize that. So I recommend that we concentrate on the work we have to do -- fulfilling the wishes and the expectations of the German citizens. We need to direct our energies to the people of this country, and then we will be successful - and I don't mean just one party in the government, but both parties.

Christian F. Trippe interviewed Angela Merkel (win)