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When Germany, as the beating heart of Europe, main developer of the European Union’s policies and largest economy of the continent lacks sufficient self-confidence, this means that Europe also fails to be an important political player in the international community.
This increases the importance of the issue, as a weak Germany is in fact a weak Europe.
Among the German politicians who, in interviews with Funke Mediengruppe, have criticized Germany’s lack of pragmatism and self-confidence in its foreign policy are Volker Kauder (the parliamentary group leader of the ruling CDU/CSU faction in the German Bundestag), Christian Lindner (a member of the Bundestag and leader of the liberal Free Democratic Party of Germany), Sahra Wagenknecht (German left-wing politician, economist, author and publicist and a member of the Bundestag) and Anton Hofreiter (the co-chair of the Green Party’s parliamentary group).
They have also stressed the necessity of maintaining Germany’s national integrity and unity in the face of US President Donald Trump’s anti-Germany policies.
This comes as, according to the latest poll by Germany’s ARD broadcasting service, more than 80 percent of the country’s people describe Trump as a threat to global peace and, particularly, Europe and Germany.
At present, while Trump with his enormous self-confidence overtly and flagrantly seeks to, by adopting different political plans (such as encouraging racism and supporting right-wing parties across Europe) and waging an international trade war, dissolve the EU and cripple Germany’s economy, Europe is in a state of complete passivity and inactivity and is solely taking ineffective retaliatory measures and issuing political statements condemning Trump’s moves and policies.
A few while ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as the country’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, in response to Trump’s frequent interferences and contemptuous behavior towards Berlin, announced “We are not captives, neither of Russia nor the US. We are one of the guarantors of the free world and that will stay that way”.
However, recent developments, particularly those related to Germany’s foreign policy, are still following and reflecting a different trend. The political and economic structures of Germany fail to be strong enough to enable the country to resist the US and Trump’s excessive demands.
The disdainful behavior displayed by the current US ambassador to Germany, Richard A. Grenell, toward German political and economic officials is in a way as if he views Berlin as a US state. This has been objected to several times by the German public opinion.
To prove that Germany, as mentioned by Maas, “is not US captive”, the German government is, more than anything else, required to adopt a pragmatic approach, which, so far, has not been the case.
The issue of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Iran and P5+1, in the aftermath of US May withdrawal from the deal, is a political arena where Europe and, particularly, Germany can assert their authority and power to chaos-creating Trumpism.
Unless Germany fails to dispel the fear of the US from the country’s cultural and political foundations and structures, it will not be able to enter the club of the world powers and, thus, the idea of Germany becoming a major world power will remain a pipedream.
*Hossein Ziaee is an Iranian freelance journalist.
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Source: Iran Daily
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