Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05FRANKFURT7078
2005-09-19 06:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Frankfurt
Cable title:  

AMERICA IN THE CAMPAIGN: SNAPSHOT FROM SW GERMANY

Tags:  PGOV PREL GM 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 007078 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL GM
SUBJECT: AMERICA IN THE CAMPAIGN: SNAPSHOT FROM SW GERMANY

REF: A. A) FRANKFURT 6748

B. B) BERLIN 2988

Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 007078

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL GM
SUBJECT: AMERICA IN THE CAMPAIGN: SNAPSHOT FROM SW GERMANY

REF: A. A) FRANKFURT 6748

B. B) BERLIN 2988

Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In Frankfurt's relatively pro-American
district, attitudes towards the U.S. and U.S. foreign policy
appear to play a smaller role in this German election
campaign
than in 2002. While some on the left have tried to raise
issues
of war and peace, overall the campaign in our district has
focused much more on domestic economic issues. END SUMMARY.

SPD, Greens: Remember the War In Iraq?
--------------


2. (U) At campaign events in post's district, Social
Democratic
Party (SPD) representatives including Chancellor Schroeder
regularly remind the electorate of their administration's
"no" to
military participation in Iraq while using a more subtle tone
than in 2002 (or even at the start of the campaign). In
June,
the Chancellor proclaimed to a thousand party faithful in
Mainz
that "nobody should believe" that conservative chancellor
candidate Angela Merkel will not deploy German soldiers in
Iraq,
criticizing her for not opposing the U.S. at the time of the
Iraq
invasion. At rallies later in the campaign, however,
Schroeder
acknowledged the conservatives' new tack (i.e., their refusal
to
endorse military interventions in Iran and Iraq),commenting
ironically that "the Lord welcomes every remorseful sinner"
(Esslingen, August 24). Schroeder recently told audiences in
our
district that while he does not doubt the opposition's desire
to
pursue a peaceful foreign policy, he does doubt their ability
to
do so.


3. (U) Green candidates in our district are often more
strident
in criticizing U.S. interventionism. At the Hesse state
nominating convention in June, Greens national co-chair
Claudia
Roth predicted that Merkel's blind support for the U.S. and
for
President Bush would drag Germany into military conflicts,
noting
that issues of war and peace are the biggest difference
between
the current German administration and the
conservative/liberal
opposition. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer struck a more
moderate tone: in Stuttgart (Sep. 10) and Frankfurt (Sep.
14),
Fisher reminded audiences of the threats facing Germany --
particularly terrorism and Middle East instability -- and
reaffirmed German support for the transatlantic alliance but

underscored that Germany must be able to part ways with the
United States where U.S. policy is misguided. "Our decision
not
to send troops to Iraq was not an easy one but loyalty to the
U.S. does not mean following blindly." (NOTE -- along
similar
lines, an SPD campaign poster features the slogan "For Peace
/
Against Blindly Following" -- END NOTE).

Left Party: Lambasting U.S. Policy
--------------


4. (U) Left Party (Linkspartei) representatives openly
criticize
U.S. foreign and environmental policy, but the U.S. is
usually
sidelined at their events which focus almost exclusively on
domestic issues. At a rally in Mainz (Sep. 9),party
co-chair
Oskar Lafontaine called for an end to German participation in
the
war in Iraq via U.S. forces who use bases in Germany.
Lafontaine
called on the government to respect former Chancellor Willy
Brandt's desire that Germany wage no more wars from within
its
borders and has stated repeatedly that Germany will not be
fully
sovereign until all American bases and soldiers have left the
country (ref B). Arguing that the West's military actions in
the
Middle East only create more terrorists, Lafontaine railed
against U.S. policy, proclaiming that young German soldiers
should not die for oil. While Left representatives express
sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina -- at a rally
in
Frankfurt (Sep. 2),co-chair Gregor Gysi said "we need to
help
the Americans, because they helped us so often before" --
they
also blame the storm and rising energy prices on alleged U.S.
failure to tackle issues of climate change and energy
consumption.
Conservatives: Focus on Turkey more than Transatlantic Ties
-------------- --------------


5. (U) At campaign events, Christian Democratic (CDU)
candidates
stressed the importance of the transatlantic relationship but
downplayed the prospect of German participation in further
military operations, focusing on other foreign policy issues
such
as Turkey and Russia. At a rally in southern
Baden-Wuerttemberg
(Sep. 13),Wolfgang Schaeuble (deputy head of the CDU/CSU
Bundestag caucus) said that a CDU/CSU/FDP coalition would
seek
better ties to the U.S., but focused on European politics,
criticizing Schroeder's Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis which it
sees as
alienating other European countries. Opposition to Turkey's
EU
accession (by offering a "privileged partnership") is a
frequent
refrain: Merkel declared in Stuttgart (Sep. 14) that
"Schroeder
has asked all Germans of Turkish decent to vote SPD ...
therefore I ask all Germans who prefer a privileged
partnership
with Turkey to vote CDU."


6. (U) This cable has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin.
BODDE