About the Chancellor's Course Corrections

Calmness is one of the chancellor’s strengths: Usually, the more the public gets upset, the more the stoic Angela Merkel acts. Her sharp remarks regarding the alleged National Security Agency (NSA) bugging operation on her phone are, therefore, unusual. But it is not the first time that the head of government has behaved like this to avoid taking a defensive position.

One of her great strengths, also recognized by her opponents, is Angela Merkel’s serenity. No matter what political idea or coalition agreement unfolds in the daily life of the chancellor, it produces the same effect as always. Her eternal motto seems to be “It is what it is.”

The more the public gets upset, the more the stoic Merkel reacts. Anyone who tries to get the chancellor out of her shell usually fails due to a mixture of mild derision and straightforward sovereignty.

There must be reasons if things turn out differently. Her phone call with Barack Obama concerning the alleged bugging on her phone, and even more the sharpness of Merkel’s public statements, are extremely unusual. One has to compare these actions with a march accompanying a political turn: That was the last straw, not only because Merkel’s “neck swelled,” but also because it seemed politically opportune. The chancellor is taking the opportunity to disengage herself out of a defensive situation regarding the NSA affair. What does that remind one of?

A Pattern that Already Once Existed, at Fukushima

The model is called energy revolution — precipitated by the events in Fukushima and the subsequent proceedings for a nuclear phase-out rush initiated by Merkel. Even back then, a previously long debated topic could not be solved politically. She could not gain anything but stood to lose a lot, referring to the originally agreed upon extension of nuclear power plants: Each loose screw in Brunsbuttel, each steam outlet in Biblis threatened the already fragile nuclear political peace. Merkel ended this unpleasant condition at the right moment with marching orders in the opposite direction.

With regard to the NSA scandal, Merkel copied herself. For various political reasons, ranging from the German-American friendship to her own campaign, Merkel opposed the public indignation for a long time, sometimes almost with disinterest masquerading as appeasement. But at the final blow, where Chancellery Minister Ronald Pofalla wanted to see the affair ended, the whistle-blowers were little impressed.

Of course, Edward Snowden and his helpers put the U.S. government in the most critical situation. But in a world of network intelligence, you never know when contaminated water could drip into your own territory. The danger posed by Snowden for the federal government may not be great, but it exists. The man represents a personalized residual risk for Merkel as well.

After her rebellion against Obama, Merkel now stands no longer with her back to the wall, but on his good side. It is possible that she will make a big deal out of privacy, intelligence and everything that goes with these topics via consultations, committees and consensus searches everywhere. And if you say, “Well, that is a U-turn,” she will respond with complete calmness as she did regarding the nuclear phase-out: “Actually, I have always wanted it like this, just different.”