How Would a German Greens Party Chancellor Negotiate with Trump?

Published in Lidove noviny
(Czech Republic) on 6/1/2019
by Zbynek Petracek (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Mark Nuckols. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
Henry Kissinger’s wish of long ago, that Europe maintain a phone number so that Europeans could reach a responsible partner, has come true; not literally, but in effect. The “partner on the phone” is Angela Merkel, with one qualification. Just as there are several Europes in the EU, there are “several Americas” in the U.S., as the end of this week demonstrated.

On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave an address at Harvard to that part of America which considers Donald Trump an enemy, someone who does not legitimately speak for the United States. Merkel garnered applause and praise for things she didn’t actually do: for gay marriage (she was against it herself), minimum wage (Social Democrats forced it through), and climate policy. (She shut down nuclear power plants, making increased carbon emissions unavoidable.) And she drew parallels she had to have known were demagogical. Yes, President Ronald Reagan called for tearing down the wall in Berlin, whereas President Trump wants one on the Mexican border. But isn’t there a genuine difference between a wall imprisoning a country’s own citizens and one aimed against illegal migration?

By Friday, Merkel was in Berlin negotiating with a representative of Trump’s America, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Did they find a common language? They agree that Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons, but they disagree on how that can be accomplished. Through Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement? Through Trump’s threats, which reinforce paranoia in Tehran over fears that the U.S. will overthrow the regime? The number of issues on which Germany, (speaking for the EU) and the U.S. disagree are growing, including the approach to the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 and Chinese technology (Huawei). And as for those points where there is still agreement, such as the policy regarding Ukraine, the media are putting them through the wringer.

Trump and Merkel are betting on the possibility there will be agreement with someone. The man known for the “art of the deal” is even up for talking with Kim Jong Un. Merkel is calmly negotiating with Vladimir Putin, but she will tell him that Crimea is not an item one buys in Moscow’s GUM department store. If even Merkel is unable to reach an effective agreement with the U.S. (let’s not flatter ourselves that Trump is just a passing phase), how will her successor, for instance, a Greens Party chancellor who views Trump as a criminal, reach resolution with the U.S.?


PETRÁČEK: Evropan na telefonu. Jak by asi s USA jednal německý kancléř za Zelené?
Dávné přání Henryho Kissingera, aby Evropa měla jedno telefonní číslo na odpovědného partnera, se naplnilo. Sice neformálně, ale účinně. „Partnerem na telefonu“ je Angela Merkelová. Jen s jedním upřesněním. Podobně jako je v rámci EU „více Evrop“, je i v rámci USA „více Amerik“. Ukázal to závěr tohoto týdne.
Ve čtvrtek mluvila kancléřka Merkelová na Harvardu – k té Americe, jež pokládá prezidenta Trumpa za nepřítele, ba nelegitimního představitele země. Ovace a chválu sklidila i za to, co ve skutečnosti neudělala: za manželství pro homosexuály (sama byla proti), minimální mzdu (nechala si ji vnutit sociálními demokraty), klimatickou politiku (odstavením jaderných elektráren vynutila posílení emisních uhelných). A vytasila paralely, o nichž se svou zkušeností musí vědět, že jsou demagogické. Ano, prezident Reagan vyzval ke zboření zdi v Berlíně a prezident Trump chce zeď na hranici s Mexikem. Ale to skutečně není rozdíl mezi zdí uvězňující vlastní občany a tou, která míří proti nelegální migraci?
Již v pátek Merkelová jednala v Berlíně se zástupcem Ameriky Trumpovy, šéfem diplomacie Pompeem. Ale společný jazyk? Shodnou se, že Írán nesmí získat jaderné zbraně, ale neshodnou se jak. Skrze Obamovu dohodu velmocí? Skrze Trumpovy výhrůžky posilující v Teheránu paranoiu, že hrozí svržení režimu? Témat, kde se Německo (EU) a USA neshodnou, přibývá. Patří k nim postoj k ruskému plynovodu Nord Stream 2 i čínským technologiím (Huawei). A mediálně válcují ty body, kde shoda ještě panuje – třeba postoj k Ukrajině.
Trump a Merkelová sázejí na možnost dohody s kýmkoliv. „Muž dealu“ se cítí i na Kim Čong-una. Merkelová klidně jedná s Putinem, ale řekne mu, že Krym není zboží v obchodním domě GUM. Není-li ani ona schopna účinné dohody s USA (nenamlouvejme si, že Trump je jen úlet, který pomine), jak se budou s USA dohadovat její nástupci. Třeba nějaký zelený kancléř, který v Trumpovi vidí zločince?
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Austria: The EU Must Recognize That a Tariff Deal with Trump Is Hardly Worth Anything

Canada: Minnesota School Shooting Is Just More Proof That America Is Crazed

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Luxembourg: Thanks, Daddy: Trump Is Imposing Putin’s Will on Europe

Ireland: We Must Stand Up to Trump on Climate. The Alternative Is Too Bleak To Contemplate

Topics

Peru: Blockade ‘For Now’

Japan: US President and the Federal Reserve Board: Harmonious Dialogue To Support the Dollar

Austria: The EU Must Recognize That a Tariff Deal with Trump Is Hardly Worth Anything

Mexico: The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Venezuela and President Nicholás Maduro

Hong Kong: Cordial Cross-Strait Relations Will Spare Taiwan Trump’s Demands, Says Paul Kuoboug Chang

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Ireland: We Must Stand Up to Trump on Climate. The Alternative Is Too Bleak To Contemplate

Canada: Carney Takes Us Backward with Americans on Trade

Related Articles

Peru: Blockade ‘For Now’

Japan: US President and the Federal Reserve Board: Harmonious Dialogue To Support the Dollar

Austria: The EU Must Recognize That a Tariff Deal with Trump Is Hardly Worth Anything

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Ireland: We Must Stand Up to Trump on Climate. The Alternative Is Too Bleak To Contemplate