Constantin Eckner

Berlin is banking on Biden

(Photo by Steffen Kugler-Bundesregierung-Pool via Getty Images)

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, has said he wants to revitalise his country’s relationship with the United States following the presidential election. Tensions between the Trump-led White House and Berlin have been rising for years — to the point where, during the campaign, Trump told his supporters that ‘Germany wants me out’, mentioning the long-time transatlantic partner in the same breath as China and Iran.

Trump may be right with his assessment. Chancellor Angela Merkel and her German officials have been put off by Trump’s erratic behaviour, with regular briefings against the President emanating from the Chancellery. Trump, in return, has often accused Germany of not committing enough financial resources to military investments, while also criticising Germany’s relationship with Russia in light of the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. 

Chancellor Merkel and her German officials have been put off by Trump’s erratic behaviour

‘We want a new deal in this partnership. We are ready to invest in our relationship,’ Heiko Maas said earlier this week. ‘Regardless of what the election results are, there are a lot of strategic questions we can only solve together with America.’

That is why, in Maas’s eyes, a functional transatlantic partnership is needed. Separately, German vice chancellor Olaf Scholz also voiced hopes for Americans that the ‘future will be marked by reconciliation and not division’. Germany is ‘always at the side of those who work towards freedom, a rules and values-based world order and multilateralism,’ he said.

While Maas rightfully did not endorse either candidate, he indirectly implied a leaning towards one side: ‘Joe Biden stands in a tradition that sees multilateral cooperation as America’s strength.’ Maas and many others in Berlin would like to move past the Trump era and on to Biden. Germany would urge the new president to let the US return to international organisations such as the World Health Organisation and also revise trade regulations.

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