| Germany After the Elections:
Implications for U.S.-German Relations
Donfried, Karen
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats,
Committee on International Relations, United States House of Representatives.
November 9, 2005
If the new chancellor, Angela Merkel, can close the gap between
German rhetoric and German actions, Donfried testified that she
could go a long way in rebuilding trust across the Atlantic. Donfried
said, “ Given the unambiguous, negative view among the German public
of U.S. foreign policy and the Merkel government’s need to have
domestic backing for its economic and social reforms, it is difficult
to see the new Chancellor blazing new foreign policy paths together
with Washington. Yet this situation, rife with limits, also holds
within it an opportunity. The deep skepticism of the German public
toward the Bush Administration means that a positive change in style
and rhetoric on one or both sides has the potential to begin to
change attitudes.” She identified one substantive area for German-American
cooperation: Democracy promotion. “The Transatlantic Trends survey
referenced earlier found, in June 2005, that 78% of Germans think
it should be the role of the European Union to help establish democracy
in other countries, as compared to 51% of Americans who saw this
as a role for the United States. “ Dr. Karen Donfried is Senior
Director for Policy Programs at the German Marshall Fund of the
United States.
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