The Great Ice Age

President Obama’s warm words to Chancellor Merkel seem like pure mockery now. In June 2011 they stood in the Rose Garden of the White House as Obama gave Merkel the Presidential Medal of Freedom as a symbol “of the triumph of freedom.” The former citizen of the German Democratic Republic dutifully said thank you and praised the German-American partnership.

Today, there is none of this sentiment left. The headlines may have yet to be confirmed, but they are already seeing to it that the relationship between Germany and the U.S. is nearly at its freezing point.

The summoning of the American ambassador to report to Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle shows just how disgruntled the German government is. A measure such as this is one of the strongest forms of disapproval among diplomats.

By now, it is becoming clear that the Christian Democratic Union acted too quickly when it declared the that the NSA scandal was over a few weeks before the elections in the summer. The alarm bells only started ringing when the information about Merkel as a victim of the NSA made the rounds. This was much too late.

The arrogance with which some in the U.S. commented on the NSA scandal is likely to vanish soon. In France, too, there is growing resistance against the American spies. More EU countries are likely to follow.

Storm clouds are gathering, not just for the relationship between Germany and the United States, but also for the new government coalition in Germany. Besides the left-wing party, Die Linke, and the Green Party, the Social Democratic Party also wants an investigation now; but what is this supposed to achieve? It will hardly be possible to order NSA or U.S. embassy employees to appear before the committee. It would not go any further than questioning within Germany, but an investigation would raise the pressure on the Christian Democratic Union to insist on answers from the United States.