German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (photo: EPA)
Germany's Angela Merkel New Leader of the Free World
Redneck voters get what they voted against anyway - a woman in charge
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shock election of Donald Trump as US president has forced greater
responsibility for defending Western values and interests onto German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's shoulders, analysts say, with some even
crowning her the new "leader of the free world".
Redneck voters get what they voted against anyway - a woman in charge
17 November 16
he
shock election of Donald Trump as US president has forced greater
responsibility for defending Western values and interests onto German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's shoulders, analysts say, with some even
crowning her the new "leader of the free world".
While the last decade has been defined by Britain,
France, Germany and the US showing a largely united front on issues
ranging from NATO affairs to defence of basic freedoms, the coming four
years may present a more fragmented picture.
During his campaign Trump signalled a protectionist
and anti-immigration stance, while Britain is preoccupied with securing
its future outside the European Union after June's stunning referendum
vote to exit the bloc.
France's President Francois Hollande is grappling with
record low ratings ahead of next May's election that could see
far-right Marine Le Pen reaching the second round run-off vote.
Merkel, after 11 years at the helm, now looks
increasingly like the only bulwark of stability and liberal freedom
among Western allies.
"Merkel... has suddenly become the most important
leader of the free, democratic and liberal world," said the left-leaning
TAZ daily.
The historian and columnist Timothy Garton Ash agreed
in an editorial for Britain's Guardian newspaper: "I'm tempted to say
that the leader of the free world is now Angela Merkel."
Rather than visit Britain -- a natural stop for any US
leader given the two countries' special relationship, US President
Barack Obama is travelling Wednesday to Berlin on his last official trip
to Europe, in what almost seems like the passing of a baton to Merkel.
Ahead of the visit, Obama said Merkel "has probably been my closest international partner these last eight years".
- Countering Putin or Erdogan -
Merkel's striking message to Trump after his victory
was not lost on observers -- where her peers simply pledged close ties,
she tied them to democratic values.
She said that any "close cooperation" must be on the
basis of the "values of democracy, freedom, respect for the rule of law
and human dignity, regardless of origin, skin colour, religion, gender,
sexual orientation or political belief".
The remarks indicated the German leader is likely to
accept -- perhaps grudgingly -- the mantle of "leader of the real,
remaining West and remind Trump of values", said Die Welt daily.
"She is more than ever the woman who is countering men
like Russian President Vladimir Putin or Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan," said the TAZ.
Merkel, 62, does not have Obama's oratorical flourishes but her voice is increasingly forceful on the world stage.
She put her fluent Russian to good use in mediating in the Ukraine conflict with Putin.
When most European countries were busy shutting their
doors to refugees fleeing war in predominantly Muslim countries, Merkel
let in nearly 900,000 people last year -- a stance that Trump branded
"insane".
- 'Can't do this alone' -
Trump, who pledged to deport millions of undocumented
migrants from the US, made anti-immigrant policies a key plank of his
campaign.
And few expect him to take take the lead in countering Putin, given his open praise for the Russian strongman.
If Trump makes good on his promises to rip up deals on
free trade, climate change and Iran's nuclear programme, as well as
reconsider protection for NATO allies that haven't paid their dues, it
could spell the end of the United States' post-World War II role as the
guarantor of world peace.
Stefani Weiss, an expert on European integration and
foreign policies at the Bertelsmann Foundation, said the US had started
to retreat as "world police" under Obama and cede more responsibility to
Europe.
"This is a trend that will likely prevail and intensify with Trump's presidency," she said.
It remains to be seen how effectively Merkel can push
her agenda on the global stage, if Trump, as leader of the world's
biggest economy, adopts contrary policies on migration, climate change
and sanctions targeting Russia.
Although it has economic weight, Germany's political
influence remains limited and it is not even a permanent member of the
UN Security Council.
While the US has the military might to lead a
multi-nation coalition fighting the Islamic State organisation, Germany
has participated on a far smaller scale.
Merkel is probably now the "strongest leader in the
liberal world but she can't do this alone", said Daniela Schwarzer,
director of the DGAP think-tank.
- Fourth term? -
Observers say Trump's White House win has made it
imperative for her to declare her candidacy for a fourth term in
elections next year and offer the West a beacon of stability.
"She has shown that she is very committed to keeping
the European Union together... that task is even bigger now than it was
before the American election and so I would think that she might feel
that the job isn't quite done," said Schwarzer.
Trump's election has also given Merkel a popularity bounce.
Before November, only around two in five (44 percent)
Germans wanted Merkel to stay on as anger mounted domestically over her
liberal refugee policy.
Surveys over the past week show support at 60 percent.
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