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  SPIEGEL Interview with German Chancellor Angela Merkel: 'The SPD Is a Deeply Divided Party'

SPIEGEL Interview with German Chancellor Angela Merkel 'The SPD Is a Deeply Divided Party'

Part 2: 'Deployment in the South is not up for Debate'

SPIEGEL: The Grand Coalition has now been in power in Berlin for more than two years. It hasn't accomplished much. Your own contours have faded over time, because you have constantly been forced to make compromises. Do you still recognize yourself as chancellor?

Merkel: The picture you are painting is distorted in every respect. The federal government has achieved things that would perhaps have been possible only with the Grand Coalition. For the first time in years, we are in compliance with the stability pact for the euro, we have restructured corporate taxes and we have changed the retirement age to 67. We have reduced non-wage labor costs, and unemployment has declined significantly in recent years. We have made a lot of progress in promoting research and technology. We have taken the first steps toward eliminating the use of black coal. This is also an important year for Germany, because we must continue cleaning up the budget, even if the economic situation worsens. Healthcare reform, which is underestimated in terms of its importance in the establishment of a future-oriented and stable healthcare system, has yet to be implemented. One day people will look back at the work of this administration and assess it completely differently than we do today, when we are still in the midst of our work.

SPIEGEL: You once said that you planned to introduce deep-seated social reforms. Now you have become the country's supreme social democrat, and in this respect you have fallen on your face just as SPD Chairman Kurt Beck has. Is there even a yesterday for politicians, or are the present and the next election all that counts?

Merkel: There you go again with your well-phrased clichés, distortions and assumptions. Things are really quite simple: We campaigned in 2005 with a platform that was much closer to reality than what (former Chancellor) Gerhard Schroeder promised with his anti-Agenda 2010 (reforms) campaign. It goes without saying, and is part of everyday politics, that the CDU's (political) program cannot be implemented in its pure form in any coalition, including the coalition with the SPD. But we did managed to push through some of the things that are important to the CDU in the Grand Coalition. For instance, only the Grand Coalition was capable of achieving the new retirement age of 67.

SPIEGEL: Isn't it frustrating to you that some in the SPD rail against the Grand Coalition to their hearts' content, even insulting you personally, while you, as chancellor, must constantly emphasize commonality?

Merkel: Well, in return, at least, I have the privilege of being the chancellor.

SPIEGEL: You are doing well as chancellor. But what have you done with your party? The conservatives no longer exist, and the economically liberal wing is also gone. On the other hand, the party is now progressive when it comes to family policy and stem cell research. Have you hijacked the party and reshaped it according to your own wishes?

Merkel: Once again, the picture you are painting is incorrect. As party chair and chancellor, I only do well if the country and my party are doing well. The CDU has three roots when it comes to policy -- a conservative, a liberal and a Christian-social one -- and all three must be kept alive. I believe that it is important for us to continue to develop. However, if we support better childcare, we are not changing our program but merely structuring reality so that we can implement it. This establishes a basis for the freedom of choice of young parents.

SPIEGEL: Your relationship with the business elite is especially complicated. You have spoken out clearly against high executive pay and tax evaders. Now a few people are offended.

Merkel: Whether or not people are offended isn't my prerogative. When so many unpleasant things become known, such as what's currently emerging from Liechtenstein, we must call a spade a spade. Nevertheless, I consider it irresponsible and wrong to condemn businesspeople and executives across the board.

SPIEGEL: Some people are already calling it a crisis in the social market economy.

Merkel: I don't see it that way. People continue to accept the social market economy, which is a great achievement of national policy. But it is helpful for the political and business worlds to talk about the issue of ethics and the economy, as well as the relationship between the state and the economy, and that we draw joint conclusions from individual mistakes. I recently read some of the seminal writings of (former German Economics Minister) Ludwig Erhard, which are fascinating. He said, for example: "Ultimately, I demand the greatest sacrifices, and the highest degree of insight and responsibility from responsible businesspeople." His credo was that the economy and values belong together. I am firmly convinced that the overwhelming majority of those with positions of corporate responsibility take that responsibility seriously.

SPIEGEL: Let's talk about foreign policy. The United States and Canada want a stronger commitment from the Germans in Afghanistan. In the long run, can we live with the accusation of being the cowards in this alliance?

Merkel: I fail to see how we are abdicating responsibility. I am convinced that it is important for Germany, as part of the international community and the alliance, to assume responsibility in Afghanistan. Military assistance and reconstruction aid are the two issues there, and we provide both with great commitment and within the scope of our options. We need to do more in the area of police training now. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have offered to double the number of trainers. Germany is prepared to do more in this area. All the international community has to do is ask.

SPIEGEL: You pick the less dangerous part. At least that's how the NATO partners see it.

Merkel: We agreed unanimously within NATO that Germany would operate in the north. This decision is all of two years old. The north has not necessarily become safer during this period. We have shown that we are prepared to commit ourselves to all of Afghanistan by providing "Tornados" for reconnaissance purposes. I don't think it makes sense to reduce the operations in the north and permanently move troops to the south. I believe that it is important for the Afghans that we continue working in the north.

SPIEGEL: Can't we do both? What prevents the Germans from taking part in combat operations in the south?

Merkel: Given our capacities, we need our people in the north, which cannot be allowed to fall behind in terms of development, which would make it more unstable. Germany, with its 3,500 soldiers, currently has the third-largest troop contingent in Afghanistan. We can emphasize this in our discussions within the alliance.

SPIEGEL: Are 3,500 soldiers the upper limit?

Merkel: In this mandate, 3,500 soldiers are the upper limit. It continues until October. I have no intention of changing that. In a few months, we will carefully address, in the Bundestag (Germany's parliament), the mandate starting in October, as well as the course of the Afghanistan conference in June. However, deployment in the south is not up for debate.

SPIEGEL: The relationship between Germany and France has been deteriorating ever since Nicolas Sarkozy became president. Is the chemistry wrong between the two of you?

Merkel: A close relationship with France is of paramount importance to us, and is also one of my chief concerns. President Sarkozy and I will open the CeBIT in Hanover on Monday. After that, we will have dinner together and, in a pleasant atmosphere, discuss many issues of European policy and international conflicts. Given this circumstance, I think it's completely wrong to characterize this as a difficult period in German-French relations.

SPIEGEL: Have met you Carla Bruni yet?

Merkel: We have spoken on the phone, and I am looking forward to meeting her.

SPIEGEL: Ms. Chancellor, we thank you for this interview.

Interview conducted by George Mascolo, Mathias Müller von Blumencron and Dirk Kurbjuweit.

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.