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Germany's Growing European Role: Where Will It Lead?Chancellor Angela Merkel's noteworthy reluctance to part with large amounts of bailout cash has recently riveted European leaders' attention. Germany is increasingly beginning to negotiate from a strengthened position, fortified by the long-term effects of 20 years of reunification. But what is Germany's ultimate destiny?by John Ross SchroederTwo world wars with Germany in the first half of the last century (1914-1918; 1939-1945) have often dominated the anxious, postwar thoughts of other European nations. "A failure to move toward monetary union [meaning the euro] would lead only to 'a preponderant influence of Germany,' Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the former president of France, said in a 1997 interview" (Celestine Bohlen, "Euro Unity? It's Germany That Matters," New York Times, March 9, 2010). The basic idea has been to see Germany well encased inside the European Union (EU) in order to prevent its notorious nationalistic tendencies from spilling over into the sovereignty and territory of other nations. But has this strategy really worked out? Will the German nation eventually wind up virtually directing the activities of the EU? In her "Letter From Europe," Celestine Bohlen wrote: "Ten years after the euro, it's still all about Germany, which isn't the way it was supposed to be...President Nicolas Sarkozy of France can come out and pledge all the support to Greece he wants, but in the end, it's Germany that matters" (ibid., emphasis added throughout). At the end of the day, Germany did agree to become part of a bailout, but only with stringent conditions duly attached. A successful and influential German chancellorLast autumn The Economist published a cover story dubbed "Set Angela Free" (Sept. 17, 2009). The last German general election went a long way down that road, giving Angela Merkel a conservative coalition more supportive of her plans. Today Chancellor Merkel ranks number one in Forbes' listing of the most powerful women in the world. Wrote political journalist Martin Lohmann, based in Bonn: "There is no doubt whatsoever that Angela Merkel's understanding of power goes very deep. She likes it, she knows how to wield it, and she knows how to hold on to it...She is pragmatic, aware of her power, clever, determined, cool and self-confident" ("Sphinx in the Reichstag," The Tablet, Aug. 29, 2009). Angela Merkel grew up in East Germany and is Germany's first female chancellor. At a 2007 EU conference celebrating and commemorating the original Treaty of Rome, I saw firsthand her diplomacy, deference and graciousness in dealing with the leading men in the European Union. Yet there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was firmly in charge. Josef Joffe, editor of Die Zeit (a German national newspaper), titled his Time article "German Rules." He agreed with her tough line with Europe's spendthrifts, calling her "assertive Angie" (April 1, 2010). The Financial Times acknowledged the fact that "on matters economic, at least, Germany now dominates" in Europe. The article itself was aptly titled "Tough Lady of Berlin Stakes Out Strong Role" (Quentin Peel, Ben Hall and Stanley Pignal, March 27, 2010). Why Britain fears German nationalismThe headlines of two leading national daily newspapers in Britain sounded similar warnings. The titles were "Germans and French Plan an EU Economic Government" (The Daily Telegraph) and "EU in Push for Power" (Daily Mail). The text of the Daily Mail article began: "Britain could be forced to have its Budget signed off by European leaders under plans to impose an 'economic government of the EU,' it emerged yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for 'oversight' of national economies to be included in controversial arrangements that were agreed by EU leaders yesterday" (Jason Groves, March 26, 2010). The editorial in The Daily Telegraph stated: "France and Germany demanded sweeping new powers to control the economies of EU states, by giving Herman Van Rompuy, the new European Council President, responsibility for the 'economic government of Europe.' The ostensible reason for doing so was the economic chaos in the eurozone. But you do not have to be a paid-up Euro-sceptic to suspect that this is an excuse for a federalist power-grab" (March 27, 2010). Remember that the basic tensions between the United Kingdom and Germany are rooted in their somewhat differing security concerns and perceptions. The British have always been favored by their geography, being surrounded by the waters of the English Channel, the North Sea and the Irish Sea—really in a larger sense the Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, Germany sits in the middle of the North European Plain, bordered by other nations on all sides, especially east and west. "The Germans are the peoples of the north European plain, [generally speaking] the people without a defined natural frontier" (A.J.P. Taylor, The Course of German History, p. 2). Evaluating Europe's German questionNoted Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens has recorded some insightful observations about more recent adjustments in Berlin's overall economic strategy. He wrote: "Europe is haunted again by a German question. Somewhere along the way the old neurosis has been up-ended. The issue that so long vexed Europeans has returned in another guise. "Berlin's neighbours used to worry about an over-mighty, expansionist state straddling the heart of the continent. Now they must grapple with an indifferent, introverted Germany... The new Germany has a narrower...view of its interests. It is unburdened by the guilt that shaped a postwar generation. Berlin no longer wants to pay for the grandiose ambitions of others" ("Merkel's Myopia Reopens Europe's German Question," March 26, 2010). Mr. Stephens concluded his column with this observation: "There has been much hand-wringing about what sort of Europe will emerge eventually from the present era of tumultuous geopolitical change. The prior question is: what sort of Germany?" Germany in history and prophecyA.J.P. Taylor was one of Britain's preeminent 20th-century historians in both the written and spoken word. He studied and explored the subject of German unity both in detail and broad perspective. Germany is associated historically with Charlemagne (747-814) and the Holy Roman Empire. "Charlemagne's Empire claimed to be universal, and the Reich maintained the claim sometimes more and sometimes less resolutely for six hundred years thereafter. But from the first it was unmistakably a German institution, and became progressively more so. By the fifteenth century it had acquired the almost official title of the 'Holy Roman Empire of the German nation'" (The Course of German History, p. 5). Although the Holy Roman Empire title did not fully reflect reality at the time, it fits well with the general prophetic framework. In viewing the European continent as a whole, Professor Taylor stated that "throughout modern times Europe has been composed of independent states, some of them considerable powers. One power has tended to predominate or at least to be stronger than the others" (Europe: Grandeur and Decline, p. 7). Germany was this one power for much of the 20th century. Professor Taylor viewed Germany from the standpoint of a British citizen, whose nation had gone to war with Berlin twice within a half century (1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945). That's 10 years of conflict with much economic deprivation and many lives lost on both sides. So he concluded: "What is wrong with Germany is that there is too much of it. There are too many Germans, and Germany is too strong, too well organised, too well equipped with industrial resources. This greater Germany is a very recent appearance, created overnight by Bismarck and completed only by Hitler" (ibid., p. 121). Again, from the point of view of a British citizen and historian by profession who had lived through two world wars with Britain and Germany on opposing sides, he minced no words in saying that "the harsh truth of German history is that the solution to the German question cannot be found within Germany. Partition cannot be maintained as a permanent policy [it wasn't], yet a united Germany will keep Europe in apprehension" (pp. 165-166). A little earlier Professor Taylor had made this stark controversial prediction: "A Germany free from foreign control will seek to restore the United Greater Germany which Hitler achieved in 1938; nor will democracy provide an automatic safeguard against a new German aggression" (p. 165). At least on the surface, the bare facts today do not bear out Professor Taylor's stark warnings. Clearly Germany today is a fully functioning democracy and currently represents no apparent visible danger to any nation. Its outlook since World War II has been far more pacifist than aggressive, and some measures have been taken by the German government to compensate for what happened during that war and before. Germany's politicians today apparently have no intention of posing any threat whatsoever to the world. That is the present reality. However, things do not always go on indefinitely as planned. In the political arena, events all too often get out of hand as economic circumstances alter for the worse. Democratic governments have been known to relinquish control under such conditions. As a result of political and economic upheavals, they can be suddenly thrust out of power. Remember what happened to Germany's infamous Weimar Republic in the early 1930s. Will the EU solution work?Many Western politicians (both in Germany and other nations) have long felt that membership in the European Union or its predecessors like the European Economic Community would restrain Germany from shedding its democratic rule and eventually pursuing aggressive intentions. Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, perhaps the chief architect of reunification, believed this almost as an article of faith. Of course, the ultimate truth of the matter would depend on just how dominant in Europe Germany might eventually become in the long run. The most economically sound nation is bound to acquire a predominant position over other nations in a given area. In spite of some obvious geographical disadvantages, geography has, in fact, also placed Germany at the fulcrum of Europe. The question is: Has this occurred by divine design? (See Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 17:26; Isaiah 10:5-7.) Biblical prophecies in both the Old Testament book of Daniel and the New Testament book of Revelation indicate that the key nations of central Europe will fulfill many national prophecies during the period that will mark the end of man's age. WNP
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