In a SPIEGEL interview conducted in the run-up to the G-8 summit at Heiligendamm, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 52, discusses protest culture, argues that expectations for a climate change deal must be managed and talks about the growing rift between Russians and Americans. German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "I prefer to be closer to the people, even those who are protesting." SPIEGEL: Ms. Chancellor, at the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, the powerful will talk behind barbed-wire barriers and a high fence, while 16,000 police officers are deployed outside. Costs have swelled to over €100 million ($134 million). Is there even a reasonable relationship any more between costs and benefits ? Merkel: I will be the first to admit that there are side effects to this sort of summit meeting that do not please me. On the other hand, these security precautions are unfortunately necessary. SPIEGEL: People are gathering to protest vocally -- against this summit and against prevailing policies. Merkel: I take a more differentiated view of this. The fundamental mood of the vast majority of protestors changed long ago. It is not simply negating or rejecting -- it is also constructive. A great deal of public attention is being paid to the process of globalization, both to the opportunities and the associated risks, as well as the summit's Africa and world climate focuses. The political realm cannot just isolate itself at times when society wants to have a say -- and it must also be open to criticism. I perceive this to be a fruitful and necessary discussion. That is why every contribution is welcome. SPIEGEL: But are these kinds of fortifications really necessary for this discussion? One of your predecessors as chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, has suggested that it might be a better idea to stage this type of global economic summit in a golf hotel or on a remote island, such as Helgoland. FROM THE MAGAZINE Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. Merkel: That's a legitimate question. Of course we could switch to a more remote venue. We could also decide to meet exclusively at the United Nations headquarters in New York from now on because they are used to these sorts of events there. But I would see that as similarly artificial. I prefer to be closer to the people, even those who are protesting. SPIEGEL: Will there be any dialogue between the host of the summit and the people on the other side of the fence? Merkel: I certainly have no plans to go to the protest.
In a SPIEGEL interview conducted in the run-up to the G-8 summit at Heiligendamm, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 52, discusses protest culture, argues that expectations for a climate change deal must be managed and talks about the growing rift between Russians and Americans.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "I prefer to be closer to the people, even those who are protesting." SPIEGEL: Ms. Chancellor, at the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, the powerful will talk behind barbed-wire barriers and a high fence, while 16,000 police officers are deployed outside. Costs have swelled to over €100 million ($134 million). Is there even a reasonable relationship any more between costs and benefits ?
Merkel: I will be the first to admit that there are side effects to this sort of summit meeting that do not please me. On the other hand, these security precautions are unfortunately necessary.
SPIEGEL: People are gathering to protest vocally -- against this summit and against prevailing policies.
Merkel: I take a more differentiated view of this. The fundamental mood of the vast majority of protestors changed long ago. It is not simply negating or rejecting -- it is also constructive. A great deal of public attention is being paid to the process of globalization, both to the opportunities and the associated risks, as well as the summit's Africa and world climate focuses. The political realm cannot just isolate itself at times when society wants to have a say -- and it must also be open to criticism. I perceive this to be a fruitful and necessary discussion. That is why every contribution is welcome.
SPIEGEL: But are these kinds of fortifications really necessary for this discussion? One of your predecessors as chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, has suggested that it might be a better idea to stage this type of global economic summit in a golf hotel or on a remote island, such as Helgoland.
FROM THE MAGAZINE Find out how you can reprint this DER SPIEGEL article in your publication. Merkel: That's a legitimate question. Of course we could switch to a more remote venue. We could also decide to meet exclusively at the United Nations headquarters in New York from now on because they are used to these sorts of events there. But I would see that as similarly artificial. I prefer to be closer to the people, even those who are protesting.
SPIEGEL: Will there be any dialogue between the host of the summit and the people on the other side of the fence?
Merkel: I certainly have no plans to go to the protest.
I take a more differentiated view of this. The fundamental mood of the vast majority of protestors changed long ago. It is not simply negating or rejecting -- it is also constructive. A great deal of public attention is being paid to the process of globalization, both to the opportunities and the associated risks, as well as the summit's Africa and world climate focuses. The political realm cannot just isolate itself at times when society wants to have a say -- and it must also be open to criticism. I perceive this to be a fruitful and necessary discussion. That is why every contribution is welcome.
No demonizing. No hostile words against leftism - indeed, positive, supportive words, and an acknowledgement that (i) they have something to say, (ii) it's legitimate, and (iii) it's not hostile or wrongheaded.
We mock the reflecy leftist-bashing enough not to acknowledge it when such wordes are pronounced. Irrespective of whether she actually listens, it's a welcome difference. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
it is a novel approach, for sure...
hint to angela, (i know you're avidly reading!):
change you're last line to:
'of course i'll be meeting them, they are voting citizens too, aren't they?
i will foster abovementioned constructive dialogue as much and as often as possible, seeing as these folks have legitimate concerns and valid rebuttals. indeed often they make entirely more sense than the gibbering idiots i have to deal with inside the fortress.
they will know that i, angela, mighty challenger to bush's hegemonic energy plan...you know the one that says there was no human-induced climate chaos till 2 days ago, and that all fossil fuels are american by diabolical right, no matter whose sand they're under, and how many pesky civilans have to be collateralised in order to get equally pesky resistance to wholesale resource rape kept to a dull roar.
now, if you'll excuse me, i have to go work on my spine-stiffening exercises. i invited gordo and tony to come do them with me, but they're busy in the back room having a quiet snack and get-together together with someone, i can't remember who...'
'yo whoever your name is!' ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
On the Kremlin's agenda, the meeting marked the end of a week of intensive public relations work. Previously, Russia had sent the West a clear political signal when Putin's military officers test-fired two new missiles in a much-touted PR event. The message was that the Kremlin would no longer accept exclusion by the United States and NATO. For the first time, Putin spoke publicly of a "new arms race." Nine months before the end of his term in office, Vladimir Putin offers his countrymen the picture of an isolated Russia. America has been written off as a possible partner, at least for the time being, and the Russians have little trust in the Germans these days. The word in Moscow is that the West can no longer be convinced to abandon its erroneous image of Russia. Friday evening at Novo-Ogaryovo was the last attempt, for the time being, to bridge East and West once again. QUESTION: Mr. President, it looks as though Russia has lost its fondness for the West. Your relations with Germany have deteriorated, and those with the United States even more so. Are we moving towards another Cold War? Putin: In international affairs and relations between the states, one can hardly be using any terminology which would be appropriate in the relations between people -- especially during the honeymoon or just before a man and a woman plan on going to church to register their marriage. In relations between the states ... the interests of the country should be correlated with the interests of other countries, and compromise is to be found when resolving the most complex issues. The largest complexity today is that some of the participants in the international dialogue believe that their ideas are the ultimate truth. This does not facilitate the creation of an atmosphere of trust. We should not be dramatizing the situation. If we are expressing our position in an open and fair way, it doesn't mean we are looking for a confrontation. I am absolutely convinced we should re-establish in the international arena the practice of not simply fair and honest discussion, but also the skill of finding compromise -- this would be to the benefit of everyone. Some crises which the international community has had to face would not have been possible in such a case, and they would not have been as detrimental to the internal political situation of some countries. Even the events in Iraq would not give cause for such a headache for the United States. You remember that we were opposing the military actions in Iraq. We are still convinced that the goals which were in front of us at the time, they could have been attained through different means. And the results in my view would have been better than the one we are seeing today.
Nine months before the end of his term in office, Vladimir Putin offers his countrymen the picture of an isolated Russia. America has been written off as a possible partner, at least for the time being, and the Russians have little trust in the Germans these days. The word in Moscow is that the West can no longer be convinced to abandon its erroneous image of Russia. Friday evening at Novo-Ogaryovo was the last attempt, for the time being, to bridge East and West once again.
QUESTION: Mr. President, it looks as though Russia has lost its fondness for the West. Your relations with Germany have deteriorated, and those with the United States even more so. Are we moving towards another Cold War?
Putin: In international affairs and relations between the states, one can hardly be using any terminology which would be appropriate in the relations between people -- especially during the honeymoon or just before a man and a woman plan on going to church to register their marriage. In relations between the states ... the interests of the country should be correlated with the interests of other countries, and compromise is to be found when resolving the most complex issues.
The largest complexity today is that some of the participants in the international dialogue believe that their ideas are the ultimate truth. This does not facilitate the creation of an atmosphere of trust. We should not be dramatizing the situation. If we are expressing our position in an open and fair way, it doesn't mean we are looking for a confrontation. I am absolutely convinced we should re-establish in the international arena the practice of not simply fair and honest discussion, but also the skill of finding compromise -- this would be to the benefit of everyone. Some crises which the international community has had to face would not have been possible in such a case, and they would not have been as detrimental to the internal political situation of some countries. Even the events in Iraq would not give cause for such a headache for the United States. You remember that we were opposing the military actions in Iraq. We are still convinced that the goals which were in front of us at the time, they could have been attained through different means. And the results in my view would have been better than the one we are seeing today.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: (laughs) Am I a `pure democrat'? Of course I am, absolutely. But do you know what the problem is? Not even a problem but a real tragedy? The problem is that I'm all alone, the only one of my kind in the whole wide world. Just look at what's happening in North America, it's simply awful: torture, homeless people, Guantanamo, people detained without trial and investigation. Just look at what's happening in Europe: harsh treatment of demonstrators, rubber bullets and tear gas used first in one capital then in another, demonstrators killed on the streets. That's not even to mention the post-Soviet area. Only the guys in Ukraine still gave hope, but they've completely discredited themselves now and things are moving towards total tyranny there; complete violation of the Constitution and the law and so on. There is no one to talk to since Mahatma Gandhi died. .... GLOBE AND MAIL: If NATO had advantages in terms of missile defence, it could perhaps be of use? The U.S. is taking unilateral action, but if NATO were to get involved instead it would not look like an imperialist step. Everything might look different if NATO or Russia were to become involved in these missile defence plans. VLADIMIR PUTIN: If NATO were involved this would not fundamentally change anything because we know how decisions are made in NATO. They were made in the same way in the Warsaw Pact. There was a joke in East Germany: How can you tell which of the telephones on Honecker's desk is the direct line to Moscow? Do you know this joke? DER SPIEGEL: No. VLADIMIR PUTIN: The answer is: it's the one with only a receiver and no mouthpiece. (Laughter). The same goes for NATO, except that the telephone line goes not to Moscow in this case but to Washington, and so it would make no difference to us if NATO were heading this project. ....
.... GLOBE AND MAIL: If NATO had advantages in terms of missile defence, it could perhaps be of use? The U.S. is taking unilateral action, but if NATO were to get involved instead it would not look like an imperialist step. Everything might look different if NATO or Russia were to become involved in these missile defence plans.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: If NATO were involved this would not fundamentally change anything because we know how decisions are made in NATO. They were made in the same way in the Warsaw Pact. There was a joke in East Germany: How can you tell which of the telephones on Honecker's desk is the direct line to Moscow? Do you know this joke?
DER SPIEGEL: No.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: The answer is: it's the one with only a receiver and no mouthpiece. (Laughter).
The same goes for NATO, except that the telephone line goes not to Moscow in this case but to Washington, and so it would make no difference to us if NATO were heading this project.
....
Comparing the Europeans to Honecker - that has to hurt!
Too bad that he cannot actually be a democrat himself, he would be impossible to ignore then.
But these digs cut too close to the bone to be part of an elaborate dance between Washington and Moscow to re-create a new Cold War that fits both leaders' domestic purposes. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
US President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are competing for control of the climate change agenda at the G-8 summit. The minutes of a secret meeting to plan the German government's strategy, obtained by DER SPIEGEL, reveal the hard line Merkel plans to take. .... From the beginning, Merkel and the group had no illusions about the US president's intentions. The chancellor's senior economic advisor, Jens Weidmann, had done his own research, and he presented his conclusions to the group. The minutes read: "Dr. Weidmann reported that the US president's advisor on climate issues is currently traveling through a number of emerging nations, the goal being to intervene against Germany's ambitious G-8 agenda on the subject of climate protection." The chancellor was combative when consulting with her own people. Merkel refuses to allow her image as a vocal advocate of climate protection to be diminished, not even by George W. Bush. According to the minutes, Merkel insisted that her government take a tough stance and not budge a millimeter at preparatory meetings at the expert level. "It is clear to her that the Sherpa meeting in Heiligendamm is doomed to be a failure when it comes to this issue," read the minutes. "It is necessary to clearly spell out the differences." Cooperation with the Russians -- against Bush -- is another option, the document quotes Merkel as saying. Merkel discusses a confidential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samara, where Putin apparently indicated that there could be some movement on his part.
