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Fried – view from Berlin
Why Annalena Baerbock has a bad time with Olaf Scholz
Nico Fried on the relationship between Annalena Baerbock and Olaf Scholz
© Illustration: Sebastian König/Stern; Photo: Henning Kretschmer/Stern
Annalena Baerbock was in a bad mood. Her scowl after the Chancellor’s power word fits with the relationship on both sides. Nico Fried gives in his star-Column gives an assessment: Things don’t look good there.
This scene from the cabinet will be remembered: Jerking in a visibly bad mood Annalena Baerbock adjusted her leather chair, sat down at the table without greeting, and didn’t give the Chancellor a friendly smile – while Olaf Scholz grinned into the cameras two seats away. It was obviously the moment on Wednesday last week after Baerbock found out about the Chancellor’s word of power. He had ordered that the European Union’s asylum compromise no longer be stopped – and thus thwarted his Green foreign minister.
There was something pleasingly honest about Baerbock’s public anger, compared, for example, to the fake confidence of Scholz, Robert Habeck and Christian Lindner in their recurring appearances as the three cheerful men from the feel-good gas station in Meseberg. Honestly, too, because the scene illustrates what the relationship between Chancellor and Minister is like in general: That doesn’t look good.
Scholz and Baerbock compete in important areas of foreign policy. This started with arms deliveries to Ukraine, continued in dealings with China and now finds another chapter in asylum policy. The laboriously knitted national security strategy did not form a real consensus, but rather only a thin cover for the ongoing conflict. And, strictly speaking, it’s even worse: What looks like a division of labor sometimes turns out to be open opposition.
Chef vs. waitress
Example one: Baerbock has traveled to Ukraine four times since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. Scholz once, and very late. With each of her visits, the Foreign Minister also reinforces the impression that the Chancellor is lacking empathy. In Stephan Lamby’s film “Ernstfall”, Baerbock answers the question of what she regretted during her time in government: “Perhaps the point is that we should have gone to Ukraine with several people very early on, as part of this government.” When asked whether she also meant the Federal Chancellor, Baerbock asked not to ask questions.
Example two: Scholz is proud that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a joint declaration against the use of nuclear weapons with a view to Russia in the fall of 2022. He also sees this as a basis for further talks with Xi. And one can imagine that he has little enthusiasm when his foreign minister calls the Chinese president a dictator on an American television channel, as she recently did.
During the General Assembly of the United Nations, Scholz has now turned the tables. The Chancellor and Minister traveled to New York, of course separately. The Chancellor gave a speech at the reception to mark 50 years of German membership in the United Nations; Baerbock only had a short greeting. Scholz gave the speech to the general assembly, Baerbock was allowed to listen and applaud in the otherwise largely empty hall. Scholz also gave the speech at the special session of the Security Council on the Ukraine war.
20 years ago, Baerbock’s predecessor Joschka Fischer was able to use the UN’s most important body for appearances in the dispute over how to deal with Iraq. This year, in the old SPD style, the Chancellor showed the Green Minister who was the chef and who was the waitress. Of course, Scholz and Baerbock also left New York separately.
Nico Fried looks forward to hearing from you. Send him an email at [email protected]