A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Barack Obama has organized an enchanting state dinner under the starry sky in the White House garden for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Repaying the hospitality will be difficult. Obama invited benefactors, the chancellor, politicians and cultural celebrities, sportsmen and showbiz stars to the dinner. Merkel did not so much receive the Medal of Freedom for merit, but as a symbol of freedom in Washington.

At nightfall, an employee at the White House threw dark material over the floodlights that otherwise light up the U.S. power center like a gem over Washington, so only dim light fell on the facades. In the Rose Garden it seemed like there was an everlasting sunset, created by dozens of floodlights shining on the white-carpeted room. The storm that was forecast for Washington stayed at bay; a gentle wind was blowing at 25 degrees. A few meters away from the Oval Office, this refuge surrounded by white colonnades was situated out of public sight. In this place — which ought to be called the Gladiolus Garden because of the popular flower — the powerful people forget the marksmen who are guarding their safety on the roof.

President Obama organized a state dinner here for Chancellor Merkel as she has never experienced it before. It is his first one for a European state visitor, as Obama emphasized in his greeting. It provided the setting for awarding the Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian award from the United States — to the chancellor. She is now on par with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II.

How will Merkel ever repay the hospitality for the Midsummer Night’s Dream that Obama has given her? There simply are no places of such importance and elegance in Berlin. In 2006, she had invited Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, to the tranquil North East German municipality of Trinwillershagen, between Rostock and Stralsund, and served their guest wild boar on a spit. It was a barbecue, a little rough — almost Texan — but in any case very German. Bush was delighted; Merkel was happy.

The state dinner at the White House was incomparably formal, but casual and stylish: Obama-style, not Bush or Merkel-style. It was the garden party of a statesman who can stand out by modesty rather than by showing off. He and his wife Michelle are far more elegant than Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer. As a consequence, the White House had not invited any of the celebrity elite — the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno or Harrison Ford — but patrons and benefactors along with politicians. There were a total of approximately 200 names, many of whom the foreign guest did not know, and did not need to know.

On the white-decked tables were hydrangeas and tall, slim champagne flutes and square-shaped wine goblets. Haute cuisine was served with strudel for dessert and an orchestra was playing. The dress code was black-tie, not the cowboy look, but not everybody stuck to this. In addition to Merkel — who appeared in a very simple, long, black, tight-fitting evening dress — about thirty of her personally invited guests also attended. The selection also revealed a different sense of style to that of the host’s selection. German TV host Thomas Gottschalk’s Table 19 was far from the roll of honor situated at the back of the room. It was not noticeable there that although his top half seemed to be in black-tie attire, his legs were sporting black jeans with an embroidered floral pattern. In the end, the shiny polished black cowboy boots mainly remained under the table. He was sat next to the architect Daniel Libeskind — invited by Obama — and soccer coach Juergen Klinsmann — invited by Merkel — who would not have been bothered by this.

The seating arrangement followed an unknown yet calculated principle. The five German ministers who also traveled to the dinner sat next to their counterparts: Guido Westerwelle and Hillary Clinton; Philipp Rösler and Vice President Joe Biden. Rösler in particular was more than thrilled about the honor bestowed upon him in the United States. Although the title of vice chancellor counts for little or nothing in Germany, in the United States the vice president acts as an actual right-hand man to the president — dignified, political, vigilant. Thus, Rösler’s appearances caused excited whispers among the audience, who believed themselves to be in the presence of the important “Vice Chancellor.” Like all other ministers, Rösler sought to speak with his American colleagues during the Chancellor’s two-day stay. This is how the visit started to feel like a government consultation.

However, current affairs were not invited to the evening in the Rose Garden, which was more about the past. Many people in Merkel’s large delegation were asking why she was even receiving this award. The list of her predecessors shows that whoever wants to wear the Medal of Freedom needs to do something great. Nelson Mandela fought apartheid, John Paul II brought down communism, and Helmut Kohl achieved German unity — roughly speaking. And Angela Merkel? Until now, she has got an economic crisis — which the U.S. is still sensitive to — under control in Germany. That may be impressive, but where is the notion of freedom here?

Merkel, as Obama said at the ceremony, is above all a symbol of the “triumph of freedom.” He turned into a storyteller in order to explain this. He spoke of a “young girl named Angela” who lived in a small town in the part of Germany that was not free along with millions of other East Germans. But, as Obama made clear, the woman who was once this little girl is not honored today because her freedom was denied, but “for what she achieved when she gained freedom.” Because she is what she is — East German, and the first female Chancellor of the reunified Germany. Angela Merkel is receiving the U.S.’s highest award for these reasons. The president said that the chancellor is an “eloquent voice for human rights and dignity around the world.”

Both politicians are knowingly connected to each other for what it means to be different and born into the role of the outsider that they did not inflict upon themselves. Obama’s decision to award the prize to Merkel is not primarily a political decision, but a humane and a personal one. In the afternoon in the East Room, the president seemed almost uncertain when journalists asked him whether the medal was awarded more for the Chancellor’s past achievements or for her future duties. He ultimately said that she still has plenty of work to do.

“It will be my motivation,” said Angela Merkel in the Rose Garden. Of course she returned to her roots with her acceptance speech. She spoke of her first political experience, when the wall was built. “The fact that I would receive the Medal of Freedom from an American president — that was certainly beyond even my wildest dreams.” It sounds pathetic, but from Merkel’s mouth it is rather a plain statement of facts — emotions are simply not her thing. It is unlikely that she will appear with the Medal of Freedom in the future; she did not even wear it in Washington. The symbolic nature of Obama’s gesture does not need to be explained. She asserted that the award is not solely for her. She said: “I humbly bow to all those who risk their lives for the cause of freedom.”