Habemus Kanzlerin: Angela Merkel becomes German Chancellor

Christian Democratic leader Angela Merkel will become the new Chancellor of Germany, the first female Chancellor in German history.  She will head a "Grand Coalition" government, which means a coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD): Merkel: Union Will Occupy the Chancellery Deutsche Welle 10/10/05.

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder had led the SPD from far behind to almost even with the CDU in last month's parliamentary elections.  Although the CDU won slightly more seats, Schröder had held out until now, insisting that he should be Chancellor since more voters selected candidates of the left (SPD, Greens, Left Party) than for the right (CDU, Free Democrats).

Peter Struck is slated to become Foreign Minister, replacing the popular and talented Joschka Fischer of the Green Party.  The Greens will go back into opposition.

[Additional note 12/010/05: Struck became the SPD "fraction" leader ("fraction" is what the US Congress would call a "party caucus").  Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the Foreign Minister.]

American Republicans have imagined that a CDU-led regime would be more favorable to the US in foreign policy.  Soon we will know.  Fischer actually has the reputation of being relatively pro-American, although in the current European climate that does not mean supporting Bush's "Yee-Haw!" foreign policy.

Struck was Defense Minister in the outgoing "red-green" coalition government.  I've mentioned Struck here at OHW before.  For instance, in an 11/04/05 post, I quoted from a speech of his, in which he said, "One can most certainly question whether what the USA has done in Iraq was legitimate under international law."

And also quoting from a Der Spiegel article at the time, which quoted him indirectly as saying that a NATO that is restricted to a "tool kit role" - the Bush Doctrine concept of NATO as a pool for ad hoc coalitions - would not survive.

Noting that the German government had been restrained in its criticism of the Bush foreign policy the last few months prior to that time, Spiegel quoted Struck as expressing a far more assertive stand:

According to Struck's words, the gaps in the military capabilities between the USA and other NATO stateshas to be eliminated. "These things are also important in order to diminish the attempt of our American alliance partner to fall back on the 'coalition of the willing', which is a damaging pattern for the [NATO] alliance as a whole."

Bush and the Republicans wanted to see Schröder's government replaced.  Now they've got their wish.  We'll see how they like the results.