From the outside, it would seem that German Chancellor Angela Merkel can do no wrong. Germany's economy is humming along, trans-Atlantic relations are better than they have been in years and the chancellor is positioning her country at the forefront of the battle against climate change.

But if anyone can find fault with a good thing, it is Merkel's compatriots. Many have spent the past 12 months wondering if the chancellor -- head of an unwieldy coalition government made up of her conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats -- is going to continue the badly needed internal reform process. Such criticism is perhaps justified.

Now, though, after Merkel has spent two years wooing world leaders, speaking out about human rights failings abroad, and cajoling presidents and prime ministers everywhere to get serious about global warming, the pundits are beginning to lampoon the chancellor's foreign policy as well.

One of the primary critiques is that, far from doing any good, Merkel's tough moral line with economic giants like Russia and China are actually bad for German business . For decades after World War II, Germany was content to let others do the moral wrist-slapping and to profit by trading with questionable regimes. Now that Merkel seems to be departing from that tradition, her countrymen are concerned about their pocketbooks.

A glance in the editorials in Germany's main papers on Thursday shows that the critique goes further than that, though. Many commentators are beginning to grate at what has been described as Merkel's preference for symbolism  over real action.

The center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"In style and tone, Merkel has been exemplary, but one shouldn’t look any closer. After the active and successful first half year while holding both the European Union and G-8 presidencies, German foreign policy has regressed back to old form. Germany is again doing what it has always done best: biding its time and avoiding causing offense. The chancellor seems completely closed off like an oyster: No strong words for Iran, no clear signal on Kosovo, little about the US missile shield , a strange silence on French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union initiative. Instead, meetings with Al Gore and the Dalai Lama."

"It may be that it isn't a bad idea to avoid sticking one's neck out on Kosovo at the moment … but there are enough important issues in the world where economic superpower Germany could use its influence. Where are the clear words on China's and India's influence in Burma? Does the German government have an opinion on the Kurdish attacks in Turkey and the possible reaction from Ankara -- aside from a mini-warning from the foreign minister? ... The oyster has closed completely."

The business daily Handelsblatt has little patience for such critiques on Thursday, arguing that those who think Merkel, who is off to India on Monday, is having a good time on her foreign visits are missing the point:

"The tattle about 'red carpet treatment' provides proof that the German political class and media have yet to appreciate the meaning of globalization. Claims that Merkel is escaping domestic troubles by travelling overseas are ridiculous because her trips overseas are anything but relaxing. Especially the multilateral meetings and EU summits -- even the G-8 summit -- are extremely strenuous."

"And many forget why she makes those trips: In the German media there is a huge difference in the level of attention given to domestic and foreign policy -- with foreign policy getting the short end of the stick. We spend weeks debating the possible extension of welfare payments…. But when it comes to worldwide shifts in investments, or the forging of new political alliances vital to Germany's future, they are generally ignored."

"Of course the chancellor's domestic success should be assessed according to her reform policies. But in the foreign policy realm, she should be evaluated based on whether she has strengthened or weakened Germany's position on the world stage."

Germany's other business daily, Financial Times Deutschland, prefers to focus on Thursday on a single foreign policy issue -- that of the European Union's relationship with Russia:

"It is one of the EU's main weaknesses that its policy toward Russia is too fragmented. The Europeans would help themselves were they able to close ranks and face Russia with a new realism ... For that to happen, however, certain member states will have to wave goodbye to their naive, romantic vision of Russia. Such an attitude was extremely pronounced in Germany during former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's time, but it can still be observed, albeit in a weaker from, with the current Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Chancellor Merkel, on the other hand, strives for more distance between Germany and Russia, which is why there is a certain tension between the Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry at the moment."