The German Government hardens its position towards China and Russia
The government led by Olaf Scholz is proving firmer in protecting common freedoms and less focused on business interests than in Merkel's time.
German international strategy is under the authority of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is a co-leader of Los Verdes. They are tasked with starting a new phase after 16 years of Angela Merkel's reconciling perspective of dealing with oppressive systems.
Baerbock is the one who practices the greatest solidity in his speech. He has supported the Winter Olympics in China, led by the United States, while the chancellor has tried not to offer a reasonable speech on the subject.
Anna Kuchenbecker, director in Berlin of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), assures that it is essential to affirm the coherence and reliability of the German international strategy, each in his own way.
The Social Democratic pioneer is a logical thinker who has made it clear that there will be no single German point of view in addressing security strategy.
For his part, Baerbock agrees with Scholz that the speech with Moscow and Beijing is important, but does not avoid forceful words directed at despots, Anna said.
Scholz's speeches in these initial fourteen days of government, has caused him to be compared with Merkel, since he shows a similar accentuation in the speech and the avoidance of the conflict.
However, the Government agreement agreed by the three parties, Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals, shows that the new Government will be more generous with these two world powers.
The tripartite has embarked on the search for an international strategy based on the commercial advantages of Germany, which was the main need of the past government, according to Steven Blockmans, head of research at the Center for European Political Studies (CEPS).
He foresees that it will not be easy, since it must focus on defending a system based on voting and common freedoms in the face of raw materials, it will require a difficult and disconcerting exercise.
Despite fears that Russia will organize an attack on Ukraine, Scholz has been very firm in his warnings to this country. Moscow will have a significant expense, the chancellor guaranteed a couple of days before, assuming it assaults the former Soviet republic, along whose line more than 100,000 Russian soldiers with heavy weapons are concentrated.
The economic interest of Germany is undeniable, since its relationship with Moscow is of great importance. At stake is Russian gas, which would provide the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Through more than 1,200 kilometers of gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea, Germany could receive 55,000 million cubic meters of oil gas, directly from Russia, each year.
This plan has long been postponed due to disagreement by the United States and the EU's eastern accomplices to its manufacture. Despite this, Chancellor Merkel has consistently protected it as a private project.
This indicates that the Kremlin is highly dependent on energy and for this reason, Ukraine is left in a very vulnerable situation.
China, your best partner
China is Germany's biggest business accomplice, despite the fact that their relationship is very delicate. This importance is reflected in Merkel's 12 visits to the nation, which are usually joined by several exporting companies.
Past governments viewed China as an essential accomplice, while the new government names it a "systemic rival."
The understanding of the alliance, points to the repressed human rights freedoms in Xinjiang, which is a big setback in Hong Kong and the dangers of Beijing as far as Taiwan. These situations used to be criticized by the Greens, but now they put Germany in tune with the US.
All three camps need Brussels to lead a European way of dealing with China, a "Europeanization" of bilateral German relations that Blockmans considers exceptionally safe. He is sure that Beijing is adept at breaking apart and weakening the EU, and the pursuit of its trade advantages has frequently helped him with his purposes.
The three sides have fixed their point of view, regarding the EU nations in which legal autonomy is not considered and there is no fight against desecration, such as Poland and Hungary.
The alliance agreement is close to Brussels demanding a strong hand against the member states that violate the rule of law, abusing the law. Scholz and Baerbock have now headed to Warsaw. They both walk with leaden feet. They highlighted the beloved camaraderie, but also needed to be clear on current issues, Kuchenbecker stressed.
The heads of the two states have communicated their lack of agreement with the German tripartite, especially because it advocates the improvement of a bureaucratic European state, as it was embodied in the contract of public powers.
Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski this week charged Germany with wanting to upset the EU into a federalist Fourth Reich.