German Papers Schroeder's Foolish Demand for a Veto
It's amazing that one simple sentence from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder can cause so much ink to be spilled. Here's the sentence: "New permanent members of an expanded United Nations Security Council should have the same veto rights as those who currently hold seats." Seems innocuous enough, right? It's not. It was the first time that Schroeder had mentioned the idea of Germany being granted a veto right as part of potential UN reforms. And it is causing a bit of a ruckus. The opposition Christian Democrats already jumped on Schroeder's case on Thursday, saying that the Chancellor's demands make a permanent German council seat even less likely than before. On Friday, the press takes over.
The financial daily Handelsblatt leads the pack in its scathing and ironic critique of Schroeder's UN strategy. In its attempt to figure out exactly what Schroeder was thinking when he uttered his demands -- and considering the rather gloomy chances such a demand has of success -- the paper comes up with the following explanation: It must be a trick to avoid the embarrassment of becoming a second-class Council member without veto power. "He is demanding everything so as to get nothing in the end. Thus he can avoid having to face the mockery and derision that the government would receive if it only got a place at the children's table."
Germany's second major financial paper, Financial Times Deutschland goes a bit easier on the Chancellor. It discerns a shrewd political strategy behind the bombast. "The chancellor knows that Germany's chances of getting a permanent seat on the Security Council are somewhat shaky. And chances for a veto are exactly zero." The other veto powers -- the so-called permanent five or P5 of China, US, France, England and Russia -- would never surrender so much power, argues the paper. "Schroeder's venture then is purely tactical in nature. He wants to create leverage for negotiating a German Council seat. But he doesn't appear very credible. Because up until now the German side has made it quite clear that it's not interested in a veto. It will be difficult for Schroeder to transform this hasty withdrawal from that position back into an offensive."
A look on the left-leaning half of the German media spectrum doesn't provide Schroeder with any relief. The often Schroeder-friendly Sueddeutsche Zeitung blasts Schroeder's demand that the Council not create a two-class system as being completely out of touch with reality. "The UN likes to talk about the equality of nations -- but in fact there is a strict pecking order in the club. America is at the top and behind come the other four veto powers. After that there is a large void." The Sueddeutsche's conclusion? "Berlin will not be given a veto. It would be inappropriate, pointless and there isn't one to be had. Inappropriate because reform is supposed to make the UN more efficient.... Pointless because there is no conceivable situation in which it would be in Germany's interest to veto a majority decision. And not to be had because the United States would never allow it."
Moving back to the right, the conservative Die Welt, always eager to pound on Schroeder when given the opportunity, argues that Schroeder's comments have endangered Germany's legitimate demands to become part of an enlarged Security Council. The chancellor's comment "oscillates between puzzling and foolish.... Above all, it torpedoes Germany's interest in a permanent Council seat. The German government has so far presented good arguments in favor of this goal and has avoided acting clumsily with regards to tactics. And then along came the Chancellor..."
Finally, the influential Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung manages to take a step back and, instead of concentrating on Schroeder's comments as such, it takes a look at exactly what the Chancellor is up against. Namely, that there already are five veto-wielding powers that aren't likely to want to give up their power. "The Chancellor is trying to find support for his veto-aspirations wherever he can. But only the club of five can grant his wish. London and Paris have already supported Berlin as a permanent Council member. Peking has politely withheld any promises and Putin, Schroeder likes to believe, can be had. The Bush government, however, feels that one France in the Security Council is more than enough."
