Merkel shines on world stage

A political student of Schröder's predecessor Helmut Kohl, who favored strong transatlantic ties, Merkel has said she wants to return Germany its role as a mediator both within Europe and across the Atlantic. While Merkel's recent visit with Mr. Bush in Washington was "a very public demonstration of a change of style and rhetoric from the Schröder era," says Ms. Donfried of the German Marshall Fund, she also cautions that the chancellor must tread carefully.

"As much as Angela Merkel wants to revitalize German-American relations," Donfried explains, "she knows that this American president and his policies are not popular with her public."

Merkel's approach has so far proved successful not only abroad, but among political opponents at home as well.

"She represents a new form of body language, of style, and you could see that in her Washington trip, in her trip to Moscow," says Gert Weisskirchen, foreign policy spokesman of the Social Democrat parliamentary group. "It's encouraging that she sought dialogue with NGOs in Russia, as well as her willingness to clearly state the European position on Guantánamo Bay."

Mr. Bush weathered the Guantánamo Bay criticism well, and praised Merkel as someone who "loves freedom" after their 45-minute chat in the White House. Her meetings with civil-rights spokesmen following her meeting in the Kremlin, and her criticisms about Chechnya don't appear to have gotten Merkel - who is fluent in Russian - off on the wrong foot with Putin either.

"I didn't think her criticisms of Russia were particularly sharp," says Yevgeny Bazhanov, vice rector of the Russian Diplomatic Academy. "She wasn't nervous or negative about it, she simply stated her concerns. We're used to having friendly differences, and it shouldn't get in the way."

How long Merkel's honeymoon will last remains an open question. Analysts say Merkel's unabashed support of Eastern European EU members and NATO could strain Russian-German relations. London and Paris could grow frustrated at Merkel sticking up for smaller EU countries, as she did during the budget negotiations.

And US-German relations could hit a rough patch over continued criticism of Washington's tactics in fighting terrorism. Merkel did signal a tough approach on terrorism, however, telling diplomats in Berlin on Wednesday, "The struggle against terrorism demands the use of all political, economic and, as a last resort, also military means."

Stefan Fröhlich, a transatlantic specialist at the University of Erlangen in southern Germany, concludes, "I really had the impression she feels quite comfortable in the international arena. So this could be more than just a honeymoon."

• Fred Weir in Moscow and Peter Ford in Paris contributed to this report.

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