Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles
I went to a talk by the German Ambassador, Wolfgang Ischinger, last night. He was posted to London last year, having been ambassador in the USA from 2001-6. He had been told by his predecessor that he would have to deal with a press which was continually negative about Germany because of the Second World War and that he would find it difficult to establish good relations with the British. He has not found this to be the case so far which he attributes to the following reasons: the better recent economic performance of Germany, the election of Angela Merkel and the success of their hosting of the World Cup. He explained that the reason that Germany is so keen on the idea of a strong, united Europe is that it has 9 neighbours and a history of warfare on its fronts. Germany now has a population of 82m and its foreign policy challenge is how to make its smaller neighbours feel comfortable with it. This is why they think that it is very important for Denmark and Luxembourg to have their say in spite of their small size.
He thinks Merkel won't revive the European constitution on 25 March but that she will suggest changes in the structure of the EU. He reiterated the point that with 27 countries each taking the Presidency for 6 months, Germany won't be President again until 2020 by which time all the diplomats dealing with it today will be retired or dead. We wait to see what sort of structure will be put forward but hope that they'll adopt David Cameron's suggestion that member states should be able to reclaim powers from the centre.
Lord Howell was also there and said that the idea of a European superstate was outdated. He thinks power has shifted with the microchip so that knowledge and technology has moved away from the monopoly of governments into the control of small groups of people who do not necessarily have allegiance to one particular country. This is particularly worrying in regard to terrorism and the fact that deadly weapons are smaller and more easily portable. He agreed that the structure of the EU needs to be re-examined and thinks that in this day and age there should be more remote ie video conference call meetings rather than running all the expense of gathering delegates together for summits. It should be far more flexible and unravel many of its centralised powers.
posted by Whispering Walls at 8:01 am
8 Comments:
Whisperer, sorry baby, but you've been rumbled. You are not a hedge fund manager living in the sedate surroundings of Winchester...
You are a secret agent, coming in from the cold war after years of espionage and shuttle diplomacy behind the iron curtain. Don't worry honey, your secret is safe with me.
This Angela Merkel stuff is all very interesting - but tell us the really juicy stuff... Was it you who lured those Ruskies into your honey trap lair ? Were you that lady in the posh brolly shop with an interest in customers' special requirements ? And where were you when the Berlin Wall came down ?
I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when you were bugging those 'arms limitation talks' when Ronnie Reagan was running our fair country and would love to hear how you double-crossed them by leaking them deals of the Americans' 'secret' negotiations..You little scamp you!
What's that you say ? My lips are sealed ! Sweetie-pie, you couldn't resist me - I've been unsealing lips for years...
But if you are really 'sworn to secrecy', maybe you should write a 'novel' in the spy genre - I could even be your 'secret american agent'. I will give you my number, so that you can call and say those words I long to hear..'The name's Whisperer, Winchester Whisperer'...
Gosh. Another fascinating article. You do mix in rarefied circles - were Ferrero Rochers offered at the end ? Agree that the press are bored with bashing Germany - in an odd sort of way that is down to the humour of 'Basil Fawlty', which often defuses tension. Besides, the press are too busy bashing the yanks to worry about the gerrys.
Much as I dislike the progress to a federal EU, I can see why Germany sees it as a family of nations and a help to a more peaceful Europe.
If only it could be like a family, where people could disagree, argue and squabble without being under the 'Sword Of Damocles'. But it does seem rather unwieldy now. Then again, that was always Thatcher's preference, as it would act as a natural check on dominance by the Franco-German axis.
I'm afraid that I don't agree with Lord Howell. If the 'microchip' were such a liberator, then would we have the 'Great Firewall of China' ? The problem with Blair is he sees technology as the great 'white heat' of progress. It isn't.
Like fire, it is a good servant, but a poor master - hence why we should be fighting developments like ID Cards before the fight is already lost, as it is with CCTV cameras.
I agree the change in weaponry may mean we should re-examine 'Trident' more closely than MPs are currently doing. We may need 'smart' defences in the future for a changing world.
Then again, if there is a rebellion of sizeable proportions tomorrow it may precipitate a leadership crisis in the Labour party and an ultimate decision may be kicked into the long grass. "Welsh Windbag"
What an interesting talk that must have been , WW. I like the German Ambassador's reasoning on why he has not found Britain as difficult as he had been warned he would - not sure he's right, though; I think it's rather that we have changed a little. Agree on video conferencing . It would help the Green issue, too, wouldn't it, if all these diplomats stopped jetting around the world so often?
WW - You may have already seen it, but Nadine Dorries has a report on her blog about the British Venture Capital Association dinner that she attended.
From the Guardian ---
King Alfred and his cakes..
"One of Britain's best-loved patriotic tales has been debunked as a borrowed piece of enemy propaganda, it was revealed today.
The cakes neglected by King Alfred, supposedly because he was immersed in thought about how to rescue Britain from the Vikings, were stolen from a Norse saga in which they were used to extol Ragnar Hairybreeks, a notorious harrier of the Anglo-Saxons.
Although both episodes - like much of ninth century history - are half lost in legend and rumour, Professor Rory McTurk, of Leeds University, says the cookery disaster involving Ragnar clearly precedes Alfred's absent-mindedness at Athelney."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,,2032765,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704
..for the rest of the article..
Actually, we would be much better to ditch all the political stuff and get back to what Churchill ( for it was he) suggested ie an ECONOMIC free trade area. It was only De Gaulle who started it on the political path, because he thought |Frnace would dominate it. Unfortunately, everyone else had other ideas, so we now have what is in essence a completely unworkable and oppressive entity.
Thank you for that very interesting article about Alfred the Great. Here's a follow-up about Ivar the Boneless:In Ragnar Lodbrok's saga, there is an interesting sequel to the Battle of Hastings: it is told that before Ivar died in England, he ordered that his body be buried in a mound on the English Shore, saying that so long as his bones guarded that section of the coast, no enemy could invade there successfully. This prophecy held true, says the saga, until "when Vilhjalm bastard (William the Conqueror) came ashore, he went to the burial site and broke Ivar's mound and saw that his body had not decayed. Then Vilhjalm had a large pyre made upon which Ivar's body was burned.... Thereupon, Vilhjalm proceeded with the landing invasion and achieved the victory."
Glad to read that Nadine's supporting private equity (hope it wasn't just because of the invitation). The Germans are going to tax private equity companies more punitively and we'll see what GB says in the Budget next week, anyway this is yet another reason to spook the markets regarding shrinking global liquidity
Post a Comment
<< Home