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Letter From Berlin

Merkel's Authority under Fire

By Markus Feldenkirchen, Roland Nelles and Rene Pfister

Chancellor Angela Merkel's authority within her conservative ranks is slipping away just as Germany is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the war. The center-left Social Democrats are already preparing their campaign against a chancellor increasingly seen as weak.

There are moments when nothing protects against humiliation, not even power. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was looking forward to a pleasant evening last Wednesday. She had traveled to the Bavarian city of Nuremberg to attend the opening ceremony of the International Toy Fair. The Nuremberg Symphony had provided the music, and the event organizers had expected the chancellor to be their most prominent guest. But her enjoyment was suddenly cut short when Horst Seehofer stepped onto the stage.

The broad grin on his face revealed his thrill of anticipation over the jokes he was about to make at Merkel's expense. He began by telling the audience about the large model railroad in his basement, a miniature replica of the world. "I'm looking for a spot for the chancellor at the moment," he said, inviting everyone in the room to imagine him as the train's engineer, the man responsible for making sure the trains are running, while little Angela stands on the platform, looking forlorn.

The audience laughed enthusiastically.

Then Seehofer upped the ante, saying that playing with his model railroad was an incredibly relaxing activity for him. "That's when I recover from all the pressure the great chancellor puts on the little CSU."

More raucous laughter. Of course, no one believed that this incredibly good-humored and self-confident man, Seehofer, would allow anyone to put pressure on him, especially not the woman sitting in the room, condemned to tolerate being the butt of his jokes.

Chipping Away at Foundations

It isn't difficult to make fun of the chancellor these days, because her authority has been damaged. Almost everyone in Berlin is trying to chisel away at the foundations of her power and secure influence for himself. The chaotic way in which Economy Minister Michael Glos resigned at the weekend -- with a letter to his party leader Seehofer rather than to Merkel -- have fuelled doubts about Merkel's authority within her conservative camp.

On the one hand, there is the conservative parliamentary group made up of Merkel's Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, which is growing increasingly nervous and frustrated, because it's tired of simply rubberstamping all the compromises Merkel expects it to agree to.

The conservative members of parliament can see voters switching to the liberal, pro-business Free Democratic Party each day. "I could have killed him," one senior conservative said when the CDU's general secretary, Ronald Pofalla, tried to paint the conservatives' meager election results in the state of Hesse last month as a triumph.

Even the CDU state governors are distancing themselves from the chancellor. While they're not confident enough to engage in open rebellion, they have chosen a strategy that amounts to a tacit dismantling of Merkel. When they meet with the chancellor, they raise half-hearted objections at best. But the minute they return to their state chancelleries they don't shy away from unrestrained criticism.

Trouble Over Pope Criticism

As if Merkel didn't have enough problems already, she is now faced with a bizarre debate over the question of whether she, as chair of the CDU, has the authority to reprimand the pope.

Last Tuesday, Merkel spoke out courageously and candidly on the pontiff's questionable treatment of an avowed Holocaust denier. But instead of being proud of the clear words spoken by their leader, many conservatives preferred to worry about what the arch-Catholics in their own constituencies might think.

In addition, the center-left Social Democrats who share power with Merkel's conservatives are convinced they've finally found a promising theme for their campaign ahead of the September general election: Merkel, the chancellor out of her league.

There was not a single day last week when the Social Democrats did not publicly question her ability to assert herself. SPD parliamentary group leader Peter Struck called it a "lack of willingness to lead," while SPD chancellor candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "The chancellor can be happy that she can depend on the SPD's ideas."

Nothing could be more welcome for the Social Democrats at the moment than a chancellor without a compass, a head of government without authority and a party leader who lacks the support of her own people.

Indeed, SPD officials could not be more pleased over an egoist like Seehofer constantly seeking to distinguish himself at Merkel's expense.

The more tarnished Merkel seems, the lower her poll ratings will be. So far the strategy seems to be working. Support for the conservatives (CDU and CSU combined) dropped to just 34 percent in recent polls. But SPD officials, seemingly obsessed with their adversary's problems, are quick to ignore the fact that their own party no longer enjoys much of a lead over the FDP.

SPD Hoping for Boost

The greater the conservative decline in opinion polls, the more trouble Merkel faces within her camp. The SPD leadership is already thrilled about the "hydraulic system" that it believes could finally lift the party out of its opinion poll doldrums.

Of course, there is plenty of calculated optimism behind this, especially given how far away the Social Democrats are from an election victory in September. Nevertheless, they appear to have found the right trigger to aggravate the CDU/CSU, at least for the time being.

"The speed at which Merkel is changing her basic positions is truly amazing," says SPD deputy leader Andrea Nahles.

It isn't as though the CDU is fundamentally opposed to sudden changes in policy -- even large parties can be flexible in that respect. But Merkel's problem is that she doesn't explain her flip-flopping.

Now fellow conservatives are criticizing her for changing her mind on economic policy. At first she vehemently supported a debt-free government budget, but then gave her blessing to a huge economic stimulus program. The fact that this is a necessary reaction to a historically unprecedented crisis is something her critics conveniently overlook.

Other accusations, on the other hand, are justified. For instance, until recently Merkel was intent on adding a green coat of paint to her chancellorship. But last week, without so much as shedding a tear, she buried the proposed Environmental Code, a project that she herself had launched as environment minister under former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and which was aimed at harmonizing environmental legislation in Germany.

She buried it because she was anxious to avoid stirring up trouble with CSU leader Seehofer, who had sabotaged the code from the start with cheap polemics. But Merkel was also unable to get past the resistance to the code from members of her own party.

When the cabinet met last Wednesday, Merkel simply glossed over the environment, as if nothing had happened. At the end of the meeting, she admitted, with satisfaction: "It's a good thing that no one asked me about the Environmental Code. Now we can all go home early."