Subtle Alienation

The Munich security conference shows that the relationship between Barack Obama and Europe has returned to normal; the magic of the new beginning has vanished. The old continent is not his top priority.

It wouldn’t have happened in George W. Bush’s day. If he had proposed an American-European Union summit, it would have been greeted with a shrug. Or even gentle ridicule. But it’s different with Barack Obama. He’s been in office for one year, so the novelty must have worn off long ago. But many Europeans would prefer enjoying that buoyant feeling of rapprochement after fighting with Bush and would prefer to continue with it for a while. That goes especially for Germany, where Obama’s popularity is higher than most other places in the world. But what does Europe get instead? A withdrawal of affection?

The answer is much more banal: The relationship has normalized. The Afghanistan Conference in London accomplished some everyday routines, but it didn’t bowl anyone over. It would be the same at the Munich Security Conference scheduled for this weekend. Everyone is acquainted, but that crackle of anticipation present a year ago when Munich was the setting for the first meeting with the newly elected Obama administration, represented by Vice President Joe Biden, is past history.

There’s more to the week than just the weekend. The United States has a lot on its plate domestically, what with the unemployment figures, congressional stalling on reforms and jockeying for position in the run up to the November elections. Foreign policy is only interesting to American citizens when it serves national pride, as is the case with aid to Haiti; or when security is threatened, as it was with the attempted airliner bombing at Christmas with its connections to Yemen; or when there are bloodbaths like the ones currently in Pakistan. Germany is much the same. Germans are mainly concerned with the prospects of economic recovery and their own wallets, higher health insurance costs or the Sauerland terrorist trials. The glitter of an Obama visit to Europe would be a welcome diversion, and no disappointment is as bitter as unrequited love.

But the popular notion of a great contrast between the European-like Obama and the culturally distant American cowboy Bush is little more than a projection. Bush’s relationship with Europe was never as bad as it has been portrayed. He was the first U.S. president to grace the E.U. — and not just NATO — in Brussels. The parental home and the course of time inoculated him: Europe is America’s most reliable partner. No other continent had such a broadly diverse and deep coalition with the U.S., whether economically, militarily, culturally or in the matter of shared values. The Bush administration’s daily dealings with Europe were far better than the public perception.

This is reversed with Obama’s administration. Technical cooperation proceeds as usual — in contrast to the man on the street’s perception, the two countries have again become closer. Nothing has changed concerning national interests and cultural differences, from military operations to business and social services, to the regulation of financial institutions. Obama doesn’t have the empathy for Europe that distinguished his predecessor. Obama was born in Hawaii in the Pacific and has roots in Africa and Indonesia. He has no formative background from Europe. For his generation, world war, foreign aid and the East-West conflict that all bound Europe and America are merely past history. It’s a business relationship rather than a love affair. America is interested in Europe insofar as it is able to help solve world problems. Up to now, Europe has largely not lived up to Obama’s expectations.

There have been enough conferences; one fewer would be no great loss.