Americans Confused by German Elections

Confusion over Germany's Sept. 18 parliamentary election results is not only great in Germany, but also in the United States. Neither the governing coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens nor the opposition grouping of Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Free Democrats (FDP) were able to achieve a majority.

Although Washington hasn't yet given an official reaction, observers of German politics have shown disappointment over the defeat of the CDU/CSU and their chancellor candidate Merkel. They had hoped that the foreign policy of a new government would bring an improvement in the German-American relationship. Many also expressed surprise at the election results.

Stephen Szabo, professor of International Relations at John Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., said he thought the CDU would be much stronger. "This is a big defeat for the CDU, but also for the stability of the federal republic. It's a bad result for stability and for reforms," he said.

Norman Birnbaum, professor emeritus at Georgetown University, interpreted the results a little differently: "The results show that the Germans aren't ready to break away from a social state and that the majority of the Germans want an independent foreign policy," he said.

No change on German-American ties

Both Birnbaum and Szabo believe that the White House must be disappointed by the results. Especially because within the Washington beltway had hoped that a clear vote for the CDU and Angela Merkel would also bring relief for the tense German-American relationship.

But, fears in the US don't stop there. In view of the difficulty in determining a majority coalition, many worry Germany's foreign policy direction could become incalculable, said Szabo.

"Germany will be very focused on domestic politics in the next 5-10 years. People will be arguing about reform policies and the divisions between east and west. And I assume that Germany will play only a minor role in foreign policy in the next 10 years."

Lack of direction troubling

For Binbaum, the election results are also an expression of the current lack of vision in German politics: "I think Germany is looking for which way to go. And to be honest, no one has shown a clear direction. Otherwise, the election result would also have been much clearer."

For the meantime, it's still unclear to whom President George W. Bush will send the traditional congratulations message. Once the official White House statements are on their way, Americans will have a better idea of how they should interpret the German election.