analysis
Status: 02/16/2023 1:13 p.m
Federal President Steinmeier has traveled frequently in recent months. In foreign policy, there is apparently more harmony between the Chancellery and Bellevue Palace than with the Foreign Office.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier is spending the anniversary of his re-election at an altitude of 12,000 meters. The Federal President is on his way to Cambodia – in the brand new government plane. He has first access rights to that, as the first man in the state. So Steinmeier’s travel plans take precedence over those of the government – and Steinmeier is currently traveling a lot and far. Three times within a few months to different countries in Asia. He was also in Brazil on New Year’s Eve to congratulate the new President, Lula da Silva.
When you hear how Steinmeier justifies these trips, he almost sounds a bit like a secondary foreign minister. Germany should no longer make itself unilaterally dependent economically and in terms of energy policy, the countries of the Global South should not only be left to China and Russia as a sphere of influence. That’s why Steinmeier is now grazing China’s neighboring countries. Together with business experts in his delegation, he promotes Germany as a partner.
The trips have been agreed with the Chancellor. Not only because the planes have to be scheduled – in foreign policy there is apparently more harmony between the Chancellery and Bellevue Palace than with the actual Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
lost respect
That hasn’t always been the case over the past 12 months. When Steinmeier delivered his much-heralded keynote speech in October, the chancellor and his government team were conspicuous by their absence. As the only politician from the front row, CDU leader Friedrich Merz was present and promptly put his finger in the wound: That was disrespectful to the Federal President.
In fact, Steinmeier had to fight a lot for lost respect at the time. Russia’s attack on Ukraine brought his role as former foreign minister and head of the chancellery to the headlines just days after his re-election. He had to admit mistakes in his assessment of Putin at the time and in sticking to the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The German head of state was unloaded from Kiev and the then ambassador to Ukraine, Andrei Melnyk, insulted him as a networker in a Russian spider web.
His policies at the time were made partly responsible for the high energy prices caused by the outbreak of war, and the tabloids even ran the broadside: Steinmeier was the wrong choice for Bellevue Palace.
He’s a good listener
One can assume that these months are among the most unpleasant of the Federal President. Mainly because he had imagined his second term in office very differently: he wanted to reconcile, heal the wounds that Corona had left in society. Instead, new wounds were added, including himself. Not entirely through no fault of his own, but whoever saw him at the time experienced a Steinmeier at odds with himself and the public.
In Bellevue Palace, things got lonely around the President. So he made his way into the country: Steinmeier moved his office to the provinces every day to listen to his compatriots: the old, the young, the right, the left, corona deniers and vaccination advocates – in the west, but especially in the east of the country. Unanimous verdict: The President is a good listener, counters when something doesn’t suit him and is the supreme advocate of democracy.
Steinmeier also gave a couple of really good speeches, but these, like the country outings, were lost in the current crisis situation. At some point, the Federal President even began to quote himself and his own speeches, including the date, as if he had to make sure himself that he was actually saying relevant things.
The negative headlines are fading
Steinmeier sees the balance of this first year as follows: In hard times like these, the role of the Federal President is all the more important to provide orientation. His many years in politics made him confident that we would also overcome this crisis, he says. He doesn’t want to get personal.
The negative headlines about the ex-foreign minister have now subsided. And Kiev eventually gave in and invited Steinmeier to visit the war-torn country and show its support. Now the Federal President is trying to bring in the positive aspects of his foreign policy past for Germany. Germany needs new partners and Steinmeier still has good contacts all over the world. And now a full flight schedule.