The German Chancellor Angela Merkel came into power in 2005 for the first time in a hotly contested elections. She was later re elected in 2009 to serve a second term. Markel has largely succeeded in improving German ties with many Nations including the United States. However, it her policies within the European Union that has served more to define her leadership style. Angela Merkel has battled to balance the German support for a stronger Europe with age old traditional allegiance and commitment to NATO. Angela Markel has continued to advocate EU integration in various areas such as Climatic Change policies. However, the greatest challenge ever that Merkel has had to grapple with is the need to consolidate her domestic support and shaping the public opinion in her favor. In formulating her policies both outside and within the European union, Markel has shown a consistent tendency to give much weight to such domestic opinion.
This has been seen in policies regarding EU enlargement. While she has been rather careful not to rule out the admission of most countries of the western Balkans into the EU, Markel has approached the issue cautiously in line with the German security interests. Surveys in Germany shows that only a paltry 16% of the Germans supported the Turkish accession into the union. In fact Markel is taunted to be herself opposed to the Turkish accession and so are a vast majority of the members of her CDU/CSU coalition government in preference for more vigilant considerations in such admissions.
The German policies concerning foreign relations with Russia have been informed by the same political ideology. Markel has thus tried to influence the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy. The German relation with Russia which is largely informed by the German public opinion. Merkel has continued to peruse independently defined policies that suit the German public opinion. It is said that Russia is Germany’s largest trading partner despite growing discontent within the European cycles. Germany has also struggled to neutralize the perceived threat to Russia by the fast expanding NATO. Analysts are quick to attribute this to the German reliance on Russia for Energy resources.
Germany has also approached European Security and Defense Policy(ESDP) with great consciousness for domestic opinion under Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany a constant and consistent supporter of Common Security and Defense Policy(CSDP). It is worth noting that German commitment to the security body was inspired by the threat supposedly posed by perceived threats to the German Nation. Germany has thus contributed immensely in the war against terror, sparked by the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001.
Under Angela Markel German domestic interests have greatly influenced Franco-German relationships and European leadership in general. Over the years, Germany and France, the two greatest powers in the European Union have greatly influenced decisions in the EU. However, this is fast changing as the EU expands eastwards. This has forced Germany under Angela Markel to shift their focus on the eastern new members of the block.
It can hence be said that public and political considerations will continue to shape German foreign policies both within the EU and outside the block. Merkel’s policies have thus been informed largely by the need to muster the domestic support and to provide the much needed political leadership in Germany.
Works cited
Judy Dempsey, “Plot seen as strategy to pull out of Afghanistan,” the International Herald Tribune, 2007 print.
