Washington closely followed returns in the unusually close German elections on Sunday, indicating it would not rush to congratulate incumbent German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder if his liberal government returns to power.
The reason for such a delay was the bad taste left from last week’s fracas over remarks by one of Schroeder’s cabinet ministers that compared President George Bush to Adolf Hitler on the issue of pre-emptive military strikes against Iraq.
In the Bush administration, it was clear that a Schroeder victory would not help heal the rift, and that Bush would prefer to see conservative candidate Edmund Stoiber in power.
Only two percentage points separated Stoiber’s Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU) from Schroeder’s red-green coalition, according to informal polling, with votes for the Liberal Party and the Greens likely to play a decisive role in the future government.
But there were also voices in Washington that said damage could be repaired. Senator Joseph Biden, a Democrat, said on Sunday that bilateral relations were basically ”solid”, despite ongoing disagreements between Schroeder and Bush dating back to Bush’s withdrawal from the Kyoto agreement on global warming.
Biden told CNN that he had confidence in US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s diplomatic abilities and in Bush’s ability to repair personal relations. Republican representative Henry Hyde dismissed the fracas as part of a tradition of ”anti- Americanism” within Europe.
Bush had no comment on the German elections outcome as he returned from the presidential country retreat Camp David with his wife, Laura, and the dogs Barney and Spot.
There were however clear signs of overtures from the German side to repair the wounds. Schroeder has apologised to Bush for any hard feelings over remarks by German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, and on Sunday was preparing to remove her from his government in the case of reelection, sources said.
Then too, in the midst of the Hitler fracas, the United States indicated another gesture of reconciliation would be Germany’s assumption of the military command over the international security troops in Afghanistan.
Berlin has signalled its readiness to do so, and it was likely a topic for discussion between US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and his German colleague Peter Struck in Warsaw during current Nato deliberations – even though it was not clear if a bilateral meeting was planned.
Relations were shaky over the Iraq issue even before Daeubler- Gmelin’s remarks. Schroeder made it clear that Germany would not support any military moves against Iraq even if the United Nations called for such action. Bush was angered by the stance, but his administration kept silent until the Bush-Hitler comparison surfaced.
US analysts and editorial writers charged that Schroeder was playing election politics with his anti-US stance on Iraq, and risking international isolation in the bargain.
In the US, Bush’s own critics used the reverse arguments, charging Bush was rattling sabres over Iraq to distract US voters in November from domestic economic misery.
After the Hitler remarks, National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice charged the German government was poisoning the atmosphere – but the letter from Schroeder to Bush was likely already underway by that time.
”I wish to assure you,” Schroeder wrote to Bush, ”that there is no room at my cabinet table for anyone who mentions the Americans in context with a criminal.”
Although Daeubler-Gmelin has disputed making the remarks, two eyewitnesses have confirmed they were made, according to German newspapers.
According to the Schwaebische Tageblatt newspaper last week, Daeubler- Gmelin told a trade union meeting in Tuebingen: ”The Americans have enough oil. Bush wants to distract attention from his domestic problems. This is a popular method. Hitler also used it.” – Sapa-DPA