Will Germany shift Iraq stance?

"We have to make clear that we are in agreement with the goal that Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. And despite all the differences we have over how to achieve this goal, it is clear that the real problem is not the policies of the Bush administration but rather Saddam Hussein," says Mr. Voigt.

The fencemending with the US may prove a bit more daunting than German politicians admit, in light of preelection mudslinging across the Atlantic.

In the US, columnist William Safire wrote that former German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping was heard to blame President Bush's insistence on removing Saddam Hussein on the "Jewish lobby" in the US. The parliamentary whip for Schröder's Social Democratic Party compared President Bush to Julius Caesar.

Just before the election, a German cabinet minister was quoted in a local newspaper as comparing President Bush to Adolf Hitler in a desire to use war as a distraction from domestic politics. The White House criticized the statements attributed to Herta Daeubler-Gmelin as irresponsible and inexplicable. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice went even further, saying the Germans had "poisoned" the bilateral relationship.

At a press conference yesterday, Schröder said that Ms. Daeubler-Gmelin, while denying making the comparison with Hitler, had asked not to be considered for a job in his new cabinet.

Despite all the controversy, some observers say ties between Germany and the US are too deep to be severed by the recent spats. "At no time in our past have the economic and cultural ties between our two countries been so deep, our corporate interests so integrated," says Gary Smith, director of the American Academy, a think tank in Berlin.

But Jeffrey Gedmin, director of the Aspen Institute, another think tank in Berlin, warns that Mr. Schröder has "opened Pandora's box," and he may have trouble putting the lid back.

"As a politician, Gerhard Schröder is very much like Bill Clinton," says Mr. Gedmin. "He dabbles in the political middle and is pro-business. He's not anti-American and he's not really a leftist." Comparing Schröder's political prowess to Clinton's, Gedmin then adds, "He's calculated that he can rupture the relationship and fix it all in the end."

In Germany, some political observers say Mr. Schröder's biggest problem after taking a unilateral position on Iraq may not be healing the wounds with Washington. For decades Germany has been a driving force behind the creation of a common European foreign and security policy. By taking a separate stand on Iraq, Germany blocked any move towards a European position.

"The long-term damages are much different than those in relationship to the US," says Juergen Falter, political scientist at Mainz University. "The Germans were always out front in advocating a common defense and security policy in the European Union. Now they are the first ones to veer off in a different direction. Germany's position regarding the European Union is permanently weakened because it has lost credibility."

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