The 'all we want is lots of money' club session

Heiligendamm – She may once have been dismissed as 'the girl' of German politics, but as hostess of the G8 summit, chancellor Angela Merkel appeared on course to secure her extraordinary position as one of her country's most popular leaders on record.

'Das Mädchen', the girl, as Helmut Kohl always called her, soon became environment minister, promptly replaced Mr Kohl as conservative party leader and became Germany's conservative chancellor in November 2005.

Yesterday 'the girl' was facing her biggest test since taking office as the head of Germany's grand coalition government of conservatives and Social Democrats in 2005. In the run up to the G8 summit, Mrs Merkel set herself the highly ambitious goal of bringing the Americans on side in her popular campaign to combat climate change. 'The Americans were out of the UN process and did not ratify Kyoto – it would be a giant step forward if we could bring them back in,' she insisted in an interview last week.

Despite the rhetoric, it was becoming increasingly apparent yesterday that Mrs Merkel would not succeed at least for the time being, in achieving her objective. However, in terms of her own political standing, her failure is almost irrelevant.

Under Mrs Merkel's leadership, Germany's conservatives have also increased their popularity and if a general election were to be held tomorrow, her party would easily manage to jettison their unwelcome Social Democrat coalition partners and form a governing alliance with the preferred liberal Free Democrat Party.

Most German commentators agree that Angela Merkel has broken the mould in German politics. Her style, which involves quiet but serious discussion, a commitment to 'serve' and a complete lack of showmanship, contrasts hugely with her macho predecessors, Kohl and Schröder.

Yet most of her triumphs so far have involved foreign policy. Since becoming chancellor, Mrs Merkel has succeeded in rebuilding the wreck of German-American relations left by her immediate predecessor and putting her country's relations with Russia on a more realistic footing. She also masterminded a new deal on EU financing.

Mrs Merkel's decision to embrace the issue of climate change, first at a European level, at Berlin's hosting of the European summit in March, and subsequently in the run up to the G8, has gone down well in Germany – the country that invented the Green party and dislikes George Bush. It is another card that could help her to remain chancellor after 2009.





«Klimawandel als weltgrößtes Sicherheitsrisiko

Der Klimawandel bedroht nach Einschätzung der Bundesregierung die weltweite Sicherheit und Stabilität mehr als der Terrorismus.
Konflikte um Wasser und Nahrung drohten in den nächsten 15 bis 30 Jahren zuzunehmen, warnen die Gutachter.

Climatic change as world largest safety risk

Climatic change threatens world-wide security and stability more than terrorism according to a Federal Government evaluation.
Conflicts about water and food threaten to increase in the next 15 to 30 years, the consultants warn.

Merkel schreibt Durchbruch beim Klimaschutz ab

Regionale Köstlichkeiten und ein schwer verdauliches Gesprächsthema: Bei Kraftbrühe und Spargel hat Kanzlerin Merkel zum Auftakt des G-8-Gipfels versucht, den US-Präsidenten vom Sinn konkreter Klimaschutz-Ziele zu überzeugen – ohne Erfolg.
Nun setzt Merkel auf Pragmatismus.

Merkel depreciates breakthrough in climatic protection

Regional appetizers and a topic for discussion of difficult digestion: with broth and asparagus, as a prelude to the G8 summit chancellor Merkel tried to convince US president of the sense of concrete climatic protection goals – without success. Now Merkel sets on pragmatism.

G-8-Chefs streiten über Afrika und Aids-Hilfe

Nach außen zeigen sie bei ersten G-8-Abendessen Harmonie - innen herrscht Zwietracht. Nicht nur in der Klimapolitik, auch bei der Afrika- und Aids-Hilfe sind die Staats- und Regierungschefs jetzt auf Konfrontationskurs.
Einst zugesagte Entwicklungshilfe droht zu kippen.

G8 leaders argue about Africa and AIDS assistance

Outward they show harmony at the first G8 dinners – inside discord prevails. Not only in climatic politics, but also as far as Africa and AIDS assistance are concerned, presidents and prime ministers are now on confrontation course.
The development assistance once assured now threatens to tilt.»





Next Friday afternoon, according to rumors spread in Rostock, presidents and prime ministers will attend an ecumenical religious service to give thanks for the wellbeing of globalized capitalism.
May the gods listen to their prayers…

Translated and edited by
RIC