First year as Secretary of State: How Baerbock sets a new tone

Baerbock’s first year as Secretary of State was shaped by the Russian war in Ukraine and its aftermath. She does not hide behind diplomatic phrases.

The first trip should be a foretaste of what Annalena Baerbock can expect. There are 33 years between her and Jean-Yves Le Drian. When the two stood side by side in Paris in December 2021, the French foreign minister showed a certain reluctance. Two days later, at the joint press conference in Warsaw, Baerbock’s Polish counterpart – also an elderly gentleman – gave her a lengthy lecture that, to put it diplomatically, could be described as paternally instructive. These are the first steps on the diplomatic stage.

Almost a year later: Baerbock routinely hosts the G7 meeting in the Peace Hall of Munster. The Green politician seems to have long since settled into her role. It was a quick start into an office that was marked early on by the Russian war against Ukraine and the “turn of the era”.

Visible and popular

Baerbock is the first woman to head the Federal Foreign Office. She used the first year to gain visibility, to set her own tone and gain international respect. At the same time, the Green politician had to make a 180-degree turn early on and vacate fundamental positions. The first few months also brought the realization that the resolutions of a value-based foreign policy still have to prove themselves in the harsh reality.

There is a lot that Baerbock can write on the credit side: According to “Time Magazine”, the 41-year-old is one of the “100 rising stars”. in the ARD Germany trend For months she has been the cabinet member with whom respondents are most satisfied. In July she had ousted Robert Habeck from first place there. Popularity is now a frequent side effect of German foreign ministers, but this development did not seem to be a matter of course at Baerbock. After all, she had – also due to her own mistakes – a botched top candidate in the federal election behind her.

Consent is not unconditional. The overall picture includes: The Green politician continues to trigger violent rejection and wild insults, especially in social networks.

Don’t hide behind diplomacy

So now German chief diplomat. And Baerbock makes no secret of the fact that she does not want to freeze in awe in front of the office, but wants to shape it according to her ideas. She brought responsibility for international climate diplomacy into her own ministry. And so Baerbock is in the front row at the World Climate Conference in the crucial hours and not the Environment Minister as before.

Her own accents also include her public language, the effort not to hide behind diplomatic formulations too much. During her first visit to Moscow – even before the start of the war – she addressed the Russian troop deployment in a press conference with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: “It’s hard not to take that as a threat.” In the Kiev suburb of Bucha, she says: “We could be those victims.”

Clearer than the chancellor

But there are also situations in which Baerbock’s words cause irritation. Advertising for a solution to the Kashmir conflict “with the help of the United Nations” caused a brief upset in India. She later called the fact that she had spoken of “popular uprisings” in Germany in connection with Russian gas deliveries “perhaps a bit exaggerated”. Nevertheless, in many of these months of war, Baerbock’s statements often sound clearer than the chancellor’s. It remains to be seen whether the Union’s praise for this should not primarily be seen as criticism of Olaf Scholz.

Whether on an agricultural project in Niger, at the border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova, or now in India: When Baerbock travels, she makes sure not only to visit ministries and residences. One of the cornerstones of their work is to make voices outside of official politics heard and visible, especially women and children. For example, she spoke to the UN General Assembly about the little girl Mia, who was born in a Kiev subway station. The parents had sought shelter from the bombs.

What does feminist foreign policy mean?

However, anyone who keeps emphasizing the importance of a feminist foreign policy must be measured against the standards they have set themselves. Criticism of Baerbock was correspondingly clear after Mahsa Amini died after her arrest in Iran and women took to the streets in protest. From the point of view of many critics, it took too long for Baerbock to speak out with a sharp condemnation.

The traffic light in the coalition agreement had undertaken a value-based foreign policy. But within the government there are different readings of what that means in practice. Example China: Shortly before taking office, Baerbock spoke of an “interplay of dialogue and toughness”. When the chancellor recently Entry of the Chinese state shipping company Cosco at a Hamburg port terminal prevailed, the Foreign Minister put her rejection on record. Critical remarks followed at the time of the Chancellor’s trip to Beijing.

In the end, the Scholz camp sees itself confirmed, since China supported a condemnation of Russia at the G20 summit after the trip. Baerbock’s house is currently in charge of developing a China strategy. The further discussion in the federal government should be a test of how tense the relationship between the foreign minister and the chancellor is.

Baerbock has now been in office for twelve months, and it is too early for an assessment. There are still too many unanswered questions for that. Will Baerbocks achieve a long-term effect in some places with little diplomacy? Or is it counterproductive? She herself speaks of a “mostly terrible year”. And little suggests that 2023 will be quieter diplomatically.