German Press: "That Was No Presidential Speech; That Was A Declaration Of War"
By Tyler Durden
Following yesterday’s openly confrontational, deliberately protectionist presidential address, which in various circles has been dubbed the “American carnage” speech, some of Obama’s closest foreign friends are scrambling to find a role in a world that has drastically changed in less than 24 hours. One of them is the foreign leader whom Obama spoke to last before vacating the White House, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who vowed on Saturday to seek compromises on issues like trade and military spending with U.S. President Donald Trump, adding she would work on preserving the important relationship between Europe and the United States.
“He made his convictions clear in his inauguration speech,” Merkel said in remarks broadcast live, a day after Trump vowed to put ‘America first’.
Speaking at a news conference in the south-western town of Schoental, Merkel – finding herself in a world where many of her legacy friends have been swept away by the tide of “populist anger” – suddenly struck a more conciliatory tone toward Trump than Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, who on Friday said Germany should prepare for a rough ride under the new U.S. president.
“I say two things with regards to this (speech): first, I believe firmly that it is best for all of us if we work together based on rules, common values and joint action in the international economic system, in the international trade system, and make our contributions to the military alliances,” Merkel said. The conservative German leader, who is seeking a fourth term and enjoyed a close relationship with former president Barack Obama, is seen by liberals across the Atlantic as a voice of reason that counterbalances rising populist parties in Europe.
“And second, the trans-Atlantic relationship will not be less important in the coming years than it was in past years. And I will work on that. Even when there are different opinions, compromises and solutions can be best found when we exchange ideas with respect,” added Merkel.
As Reuters notes, relations with the United States, Germany’s biggest trading partner, are likely to be a hot topic in electioneering in coming months leading to a general election in September. And in the aftermath of the Trump speech, which defined Trump’s “negotiating baseline”, Merkel will have no choice but admit weakness in accepting compromises with a man who has criticized her decision in 2015 to throw open Germany’s borders to asylum seekers fleeing wars and conflicts, and has said he believes other countries will leave the EU after Britain and that the NATO military alliance was obsolete.
* * *
Yet while Merkel hopes for a fresh start with the new US president, her domestic institutions and media will be far less forgiving to any indication of weakness from the chancellor. For the best example so far, an article penned this morning by Gabor Steingart, chief in chief of Handelsblatt, Germany’s leading economic newspaper, burned all compromise bridges when he said that “that was no presidential speech; that was a veritable declaration of war.”
The savage …read more
Source: German Press: "That Was No Presidential Speech; That Was A Declaration Of War"
