Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MUNICH28
2007-01-19 18:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Munich
how-toVZCZCXRO3226 PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHMZ #0028/01 0191824 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 191824Z JAN 07 FM AMCONSUL MUNICH TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3726 RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUNICH 000028
SIPDIS
SENSTIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV GM
SUBJECT: BAVARIA'S NEXT MINISTER-PRESIDENT
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
REFS: (A) MUNICH 15, (B) MUNICH 21
-------
SUMMARY
-------
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUNICH 000028
SIPDIS
SENSTIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV GM
SUBJECT: BAVARIA'S NEXT MINISTER-PRESIDENT
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
REFS: (A) MUNICH 15, (B) MUNICH 21
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (SBU) Bavarian Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein is expected
to be elected Bavarian Minister-President in early October 2007,
succeeding Edmund Stoiber. Beckstein is the longest-serving and
best-known of Germany's state interior ministers. His "law and
order" approach has provided Bavaria a remarkably low crime rate,
but led to criticism that he is anti-foreigner. Beckstein is not
afraid to criticize U.S. policy, but has maintained a good working
relationship with Consulate General Munich - a relationship we
anticipate will continue during his Minister-Presidency. While
Beckstein is largely untested outside of the Interior Ministry, we
anticipate he will work constructively with the Merkel government to
the extent that doing so does not conflict with Bavaria's perceived
provincial interests. End Summary.
--------------
NO LONGER A BRIDESMAID
--------------
2. (U) Following Bavarian Minister-President Stoiber's unexpected
decision in November 2005 to not take a federal cabinet position,
conventional wisdom was that Bavarian Interior Minister Dr. Guenter
Beckstein, at 63, had missed his best, and perhaps final chance to
lead Bavaria as Minister-President. The popular and respected
Beckstein had played bridesmaid twice - when Stoiber ran for Federal
Chancellor in 2002 and lost, and again in fall of 2005 when Stoiber
returned to Bavaria. Only at the eleventh hour of Stoiber's most
recent political crisis (Ref B),did Beckstein's name surface again
- this time as the compromise candidate to take over the helm of
Germany's largest and most independent state from the free-falling
Stoiber.
3. (U) In an arrangement worked-out by the Christian Social Union
(CSU) leadership, Beckstein is expected to be elected
Minister-President by the State Parliament (Landtag) Caucus in
October 2007. He would then face the full-electorate in fall 2008,
giving him, if re-elected as expected, a five-year term as
Minister-President. While it is unclear if Beckstein would seek to
remain in office until 2013, or turn-over the reins of power
mid-term, he will be viewed essentially as a transitional leader
regardless, serving until the CSU is able to agree on its next
generation of leadership.
-------------- --------------
GERMANY'S LONGEST-SERVING STATE INTERIOR MINISTER
-------------- --------------
4. (U) Beckstein is the longest-serving and best-known of Germany's
state interior ministers. In October 1988, during a cabinet
reshuffle following the death of Minister-President Franz Josef
Strauss, Beckstein entered the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior as
a State Secretary, serving under then Interior Minister Edmund
Stoiber. In the 1993 succession struggle between Stoiber and Theo
Waigel for the Minister-President position, Beckstein supported
Stoiber and challenged Waigel openly at a district convention.
After his nomination as Minister-President, Stoiber chose Beckstein
to be his successor as Interior Minister -- a position he has held
ever since.
5. (U) Guenther Beckstein was born on November 23, 1943 in
Hersbruck, near Nuremberg. He is married to a teacher who he says
is his best advisor, and has three children. He studied law in
Erlangen and Munich and began working as a lawyer in 1971. He
entered the Bavarian Landtag in 1974. From 1980 to 1988, he was
Chairman of the CSU Committee on Police Affairs. In 1987, he was
defeated in a bid for Lord Mayor of Nuremberg. Beckstein is active
in the Evangelical (Protestant) Church of his home community, and
would be Catholic Bavaria's first non-Catholic Minister-President.
--------------
LAW AND ORDER
--------------
6. (U) Beckstein has the reputation of being a hardliner Interior
Minister and, according to "Spiegel" magazine, is "the toughest of
the tough." A subscriber to the "broken-window theory" of proactive
law enforcement, Beckstein is proud that Bavaria has the lowest
crime rate of all German states. He opposed the Schengen agreement
which provided for an abolition of border controls between EU
states, on the grounds that it would complicate Bavarian efforts to
keep tabs on criminals and other undesirables. Like many of his CSU
colleagues, he supports electronic and other surveillance of
individuals and groups considered a threat to public order,
including Islamists and right-wing extremists, but also groups such
MUNICH 00000028 002 OF 002
as the Church of Scientology (COS). In that regard, Beckstein has
been critical of the State Department Human Rights Report, which
criticizes Germany for alleged discrimination against the COS and
its members.
7. (U) Beckstein's aggressive style has led critics to argue he is
hostile to foreigners - a claim Beckstein vigorously denies -
unless, that is, the foreigners fall on the wrong-side of the law.
Indeed Beckstein has made a point of demonstrating his "social"
side, including recruiting ethnic Turkish police officers and
establishing good contacts in the Muslim community. In 2006 he
joined a protest march against Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
Beckstein was also bestowed with the "Jerusalem Award 2006" of the
World Zionist Organization and the Zionist Organization of Germany
for having "broadly contributed to Jews being able to live in
security and peace in Germany."
--------------
A NO-NONESENSE INTERLOCUTOR
--------------
8. (SBU) Conversations with Beckstein tend to be direct and
productive. Beckstein is usually well prepared, listens carefully,
and speaks his mind bluntly. With Beckstein at the helm of the
State Chancellery, we expect a very different political style than
that of his predecessor. Stoiber was often criticized in recent
years for exerting an almost autocratic rule, with a lack of
consultation of the Landtag and national CSU Caucuses. He enjoyed
the respect and sometimes admiration of his compatriots, but never
their love. In contrast to the workaholic and wonkish Stoiber,
Beckstein embodies more the "landesvater" type of personality with a
good sense of humor and active life outside politics. His carnival
costumes (such as Bavarian Lion, Madame Pompadour or Albert
Einstein) are legendary.
9. (SBU) Beckstein is not afraid to criticize the U.S. when he
feels it appropriate. Last year, in an interview with "Focus"
magazine he characterized the conditions of the U.S. Guantanamo Bay
detention facility as "clearly illegal," and damaging to the U.S.
reputation as a human rights leader. Beckstein has also made clear
his opposition to Turkish EU accession - a view in step with the CSU
rank-and-file. In conversations with us, he has expressed his hope
that the U.S. would be more forthcoming in sharing intelligence and
law enforcement information with Bavarian authorities. He
enthusiastically agreed to Consulate Munich's suggestion to have
Interior Ministry officials participate in the Consulate's emergency
preparedness exercises, sending two experts to the most recent
crisis management exercise.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
10. (SBU) Beckstein's lack of a track-record on issues outside the
security realm makes it difficult at to assess his future agenda as
Minister-President. There are few public Beckstein statements on
economic and social issues, such as reform of the German health care
system. "Die Welt" on January 19 noted that "excursions by
Beckstein into other than domestic fields of politics are
practically unheard of."
11. (SBU) We anticipate Beckstein's relationship with Chancellor
Merkel will be a net improvement over the essentially poisoned
personal and professional relationships Stoiber had with Merkel.
Beckstein's pragmatic approach allowed him to build a close working
relationship with former Social Democrat Federal Interior Minister
Schily in the Schroeder government - we would expect this pragmatic
approach to underpin his relations with the Merkel government as
well. Having said that, Beckstein is true-CSU, and as Germany's
only one-state party with an absolute hold on power in Bavaria, the
CSU is all about "Bavaria-first." When Bavaria's perceived
provincial interests collide with those of the federal government,
as most recently with healthcare reform, Beckstein can be expected,
like his predecessors, to show his allegiance to the "Freistaat
Bayern" over Berlin. End Comment.
12. (U) This report has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin.
13. (U) Previous reporting from Munich is available on our SIPRNET
website at www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/munich/ .
NELSON
SIPDIS
SENSTIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV GM
SUBJECT: BAVARIA'S NEXT MINISTER-PRESIDENT
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
REFS: (A) MUNICH 15, (B) MUNICH 21
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (SBU) Bavarian Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein is expected
to be elected Bavarian Minister-President in early October 2007,
succeeding Edmund Stoiber. Beckstein is the longest-serving and
best-known of Germany's state interior ministers. His "law and
order" approach has provided Bavaria a remarkably low crime rate,
but led to criticism that he is anti-foreigner. Beckstein is not
afraid to criticize U.S. policy, but has maintained a good working
relationship with Consulate General Munich - a relationship we
anticipate will continue during his Minister-Presidency. While
Beckstein is largely untested outside of the Interior Ministry, we
anticipate he will work constructively with the Merkel government to
the extent that doing so does not conflict with Bavaria's perceived
provincial interests. End Summary.
--------------
NO LONGER A BRIDESMAID
--------------
2. (U) Following Bavarian Minister-President Stoiber's unexpected
decision in November 2005 to not take a federal cabinet position,
conventional wisdom was that Bavarian Interior Minister Dr. Guenter
Beckstein, at 63, had missed his best, and perhaps final chance to
lead Bavaria as Minister-President. The popular and respected
Beckstein had played bridesmaid twice - when Stoiber ran for Federal
Chancellor in 2002 and lost, and again in fall of 2005 when Stoiber
returned to Bavaria. Only at the eleventh hour of Stoiber's most
recent political crisis (Ref B),did Beckstein's name surface again
- this time as the compromise candidate to take over the helm of
Germany's largest and most independent state from the free-falling
Stoiber.
3. (U) In an arrangement worked-out by the Christian Social Union
(CSU) leadership, Beckstein is expected to be elected
Minister-President by the State Parliament (Landtag) Caucus in
October 2007. He would then face the full-electorate in fall 2008,
giving him, if re-elected as expected, a five-year term as
Minister-President. While it is unclear if Beckstein would seek to
remain in office until 2013, or turn-over the reins of power
mid-term, he will be viewed essentially as a transitional leader
regardless, serving until the CSU is able to agree on its next
generation of leadership.
-------------- --------------
GERMANY'S LONGEST-SERVING STATE INTERIOR MINISTER
-------------- --------------
4. (U) Beckstein is the longest-serving and best-known of Germany's
state interior ministers. In October 1988, during a cabinet
reshuffle following the death of Minister-President Franz Josef
Strauss, Beckstein entered the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior as
a State Secretary, serving under then Interior Minister Edmund
Stoiber. In the 1993 succession struggle between Stoiber and Theo
Waigel for the Minister-President position, Beckstein supported
Stoiber and challenged Waigel openly at a district convention.
After his nomination as Minister-President, Stoiber chose Beckstein
to be his successor as Interior Minister -- a position he has held
ever since.
5. (U) Guenther Beckstein was born on November 23, 1943 in
Hersbruck, near Nuremberg. He is married to a teacher who he says
is his best advisor, and has three children. He studied law in
Erlangen and Munich and began working as a lawyer in 1971. He
entered the Bavarian Landtag in 1974. From 1980 to 1988, he was
Chairman of the CSU Committee on Police Affairs. In 1987, he was
defeated in a bid for Lord Mayor of Nuremberg. Beckstein is active
in the Evangelical (Protestant) Church of his home community, and
would be Catholic Bavaria's first non-Catholic Minister-President.
--------------
LAW AND ORDER
--------------
6. (U) Beckstein has the reputation of being a hardliner Interior
Minister and, according to "Spiegel" magazine, is "the toughest of
the tough." A subscriber to the "broken-window theory" of proactive
law enforcement, Beckstein is proud that Bavaria has the lowest
crime rate of all German states. He opposed the Schengen agreement
which provided for an abolition of border controls between EU
states, on the grounds that it would complicate Bavarian efforts to
keep tabs on criminals and other undesirables. Like many of his CSU
colleagues, he supports electronic and other surveillance of
individuals and groups considered a threat to public order,
including Islamists and right-wing extremists, but also groups such
MUNICH 00000028 002 OF 002
as the Church of Scientology (COS). In that regard, Beckstein has
been critical of the State Department Human Rights Report, which
criticizes Germany for alleged discrimination against the COS and
its members.
7. (U) Beckstein's aggressive style has led critics to argue he is
hostile to foreigners - a claim Beckstein vigorously denies -
unless, that is, the foreigners fall on the wrong-side of the law.
Indeed Beckstein has made a point of demonstrating his "social"
side, including recruiting ethnic Turkish police officers and
establishing good contacts in the Muslim community. In 2006 he
joined a protest march against Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
Beckstein was also bestowed with the "Jerusalem Award 2006" of the
World Zionist Organization and the Zionist Organization of Germany
for having "broadly contributed to Jews being able to live in
security and peace in Germany."
--------------
A NO-NONESENSE INTERLOCUTOR
--------------
8. (SBU) Conversations with Beckstein tend to be direct and
productive. Beckstein is usually well prepared, listens carefully,
and speaks his mind bluntly. With Beckstein at the helm of the
State Chancellery, we expect a very different political style than
that of his predecessor. Stoiber was often criticized in recent
years for exerting an almost autocratic rule, with a lack of
consultation of the Landtag and national CSU Caucuses. He enjoyed
the respect and sometimes admiration of his compatriots, but never
their love. In contrast to the workaholic and wonkish Stoiber,
Beckstein embodies more the "landesvater" type of personality with a
good sense of humor and active life outside politics. His carnival
costumes (such as Bavarian Lion, Madame Pompadour or Albert
Einstein) are legendary.
9. (SBU) Beckstein is not afraid to criticize the U.S. when he
feels it appropriate. Last year, in an interview with "Focus"
magazine he characterized the conditions of the U.S. Guantanamo Bay
detention facility as "clearly illegal," and damaging to the U.S.
reputation as a human rights leader. Beckstein has also made clear
his opposition to Turkish EU accession - a view in step with the CSU
rank-and-file. In conversations with us, he has expressed his hope
that the U.S. would be more forthcoming in sharing intelligence and
law enforcement information with Bavarian authorities. He
enthusiastically agreed to Consulate Munich's suggestion to have
Interior Ministry officials participate in the Consulate's emergency
preparedness exercises, sending two experts to the most recent
crisis management exercise.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
10. (SBU) Beckstein's lack of a track-record on issues outside the
security realm makes it difficult at to assess his future agenda as
Minister-President. There are few public Beckstein statements on
economic and social issues, such as reform of the German health care
system. "Die Welt" on January 19 noted that "excursions by
Beckstein into other than domestic fields of politics are
practically unheard of."
11. (SBU) We anticipate Beckstein's relationship with Chancellor
Merkel will be a net improvement over the essentially poisoned
personal and professional relationships Stoiber had with Merkel.
Beckstein's pragmatic approach allowed him to build a close working
relationship with former Social Democrat Federal Interior Minister
Schily in the Schroeder government - we would expect this pragmatic
approach to underpin his relations with the Merkel government as
well. Having said that, Beckstein is true-CSU, and as Germany's
only one-state party with an absolute hold on power in Bavaria, the
CSU is all about "Bavaria-first." When Bavaria's perceived
provincial interests collide with those of the federal government,
as most recently with healthcare reform, Beckstein can be expected,
like his predecessors, to show his allegiance to the "Freistaat
Bayern" over Berlin. End Comment.
12. (U) This report has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin.
13. (U) Previous reporting from Munich is available on our SIPRNET
website at www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/munich/ .
NELSON