The End Of Saying No

Obama can’t save the world all by himself. He needs Europe and he needs Germany, in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq. It would be difficult to say no to him.

The 2004 presidential election ultimately destroyed German-American relations. Many Germans simply couldn’t understand why Americans chose to re-elect George W. Bush; many simply wrote America off as a country of lunatics and fools, a nation that lost everyone’s respect.

Now, the respect is back. The Americans elected Barack Obama, proof that the United States is capable of enormous adaptability.

For Germans and for Europeans in general, it will become more difficult to say no. It was easier with George W. Bush because nobody liked him from the start. People couldn’t be convinced that this man deserved to be helped out of a hole he had dug himself into. Even today, Bush is convinced he personally made no mistakes.

Because of Bush’s many errors, Barack Obama will enter the Oval Office on a gigantic wave of trust. He will have to use that trust to his advantage right from the first day. He knows perfectly well that his country can’t overcome the approaching crises alone – he made that clear in his Berlin speech. And since then, the superpower’s need for assistance has become even more acute. The USA stands on the brink of an economic abyss. Militarily, America is nearing the limit of its strength.

In America they say whoever wants to win over Europe must first win over Germany. That was already clear prior to the second war in Iraq. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was quick to oppose the war Bush wanted to start. He put the Europeans to the acid test; talk of an “old Europe” led by France and Germany made the rounds.

The British, Italians and Poles all followed Bush. The French and Germans, above all, dug in against the war. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said at the time, “I’m not convinced.” That was the greatest possible no confidence vote against the American superpower and against all those who accompanied the U.S. into Iraq.

Today, it’s clear that Schröder was right to oppose Bush’s war plans. Many European governments came under pressure because of their support for them. If Obama is able to win Germany over to his point of view, if he can convince Germany to take increased military responsibility in Afghanistan and possibly even Iraq, it will be a clear signal to the rest of Europe.

In his Berlin speech, Obama made it clear that his country couldn’t continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in military operations, the outcome of which still remain uncertain. But he also won’t be able to withdraw American troops overnight. He has to convince Germany to play a more active role in the Middle East in order to get congress to go along with his plans.

And Obama will have to ask for even more. If he wants to put America back on its feet economically, if he wants to reform the ailing American health care system, if he wants to get control of America’s horrendous deficits, then he must find a quick solution to the economic crisis. That can only happen in concert with strong financial partners in Europe and Asia.

Germany can’t possibly be interested in any further confrontations with the United States. The financial crisis has shown that an economically downtrodden United States, still the world’s biggest automobile market, is a threat to jobs at Mercedes and Volkswagen here in Germany. It would be preferable to look forward now, and – as the Americans do – leave the past behind us.

Germany can’t do much about Bush’s war policies, but anyone who wants a more secure and peaceful world has to help Obama get his country back on its feet. That can only happen if the burdens – including the military burdens – are shared.