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(2009-09-14 00:32:53)
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The Local - Germany's news in English
11th September 2009
Welcome to The Local's highlights.
This is the week Germany's election came to Angela Merkel.
After months of doing her best duck-and-weave to avoid the campaign
fray in the hopes of coasting to re-election, the chancellor was
forced to address two big issues: Germany's military deployment in
Afghanistan and the fate of troubled carmaker Opel.
The entire German government has long shied away from an honest
discussion about its participation in the NATO mission in
Afghanistan because it remains highly unpopular in the country. But
a
controversial air strike called by a Bundeswehr colonel forced
Merkel to confront it head on in an
address to parliament this week.
She still refuses to call it a war, but she was compelled to lash
out at Germany's allies whom she feels are being hastily critical
of both the Bundeswehr and the government in Berlin.
In our Opinion section,
I argued the incident is unlikely to increase Berlin's resolve
to help fight the Taliban or bolster the transatlantic
alliance.
The other big issue this week was the decision by US auto giant
General Motors to sell its troubled
German unit Opel to the Canadian car parts company Magna.
Aiming to secure plants in Germany, it's sure to be a crowd pleaser
just two weeks before voters go to the polls. And so it was no
surprise a giddy Merkel - probably mentally picking out a new rug
for her office in the Chancellery - was pleased to take credit for
a deal some of her fellow conservatives had opposed.
But Moritz Döbler from Berlin's newspaper
Der Tagesspiegel believes Opel is not out of the woods
yet.
Of course, if you're looking to escape the final two weekends of
the election, be sure to check out Kristen Allen's autumn escape
tip to the Spreewald
in our Travel section.
We'll be back next week with more news, features and analysis.
Until then, have a great weekend.
Marc Young
Editor
marc.young@thelocal.de
www.thelocal.de
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