TRANSATLANTIC VOICES

As I've done my share of complaining about divisions between America and   Europe, I've decided to start a series of interviews with figures who straddle both continents. First up is Jeff Gedmin, director of Berlin's Aspen Institute, a self-styled "marketplace of ideas" that has been described by Irwin Stelzer as the city's "de facto U.S. embassy". A former Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Jeff writes for Die Welt, and The Financial Times. He also contributed an essay to Stelzer's recent collection, Neoconservatism.

I met Jeff while visiting Berlin this summer.  Over coffee at one of his regular haunts, the Starbucks near Checkpoint Charlie, he agreed to take questions by e-mail. I've added a few links where appropriate.

                                                                                     

Q - What are the best and worst aspects of living in Berlin?

Berlin is a work in progress - you have to like that! It is also a city of neighbourhoods, some quite colourful and charming, like Kreuzberg, with its ethnic feel or Prenzlauerberg, with its cafes. Alas, the city is not quite New York. Or London. Or Paris. Double-digit unemployment, no growth and a highly regulated economy keep things flat. The city lacks a certain dynamism. You can feel this in the atmosphere. You want Berlin to be a pioneer city, but there is still the smell of socialism in the air. Caution kills, and today's Germany has made caution and consensus into a fetish.

Q - Many American commentators argue that the German social model is broken beyond repair? Are they right?

Q - Yes. Take the country as a whole: mass unemployment, an ageing population, declining birth rates. Germans still regulate virtually anything that moves. This attitude - it starts in the minds of people - kills individual initiative, responsibility, risk, innovation. All in the name of "social justice," of course.

Q - If you had to recommend one book as a source on the German character, which would it be?

Timothy Garton Ash's In Europe's Name. It's a foreign policy book, but gives a great insight, I think, into what makes this place tick. Germans have a strong sense of interest, but they either deny the fact or mask German interests behind the rhetoric of "Europe."

Q- What's the most important German book of the past decade that foreigners have never heard of?

Virtually any of the novels by Günter Grass published after "The Tin Drum", which is extremely well known, of course. Grass represents something very important in the life of this country. He is left-of-centre, nationalist, anti-American - although no one in Germany would admit to any of this and most would reject these characterizations vehemently! Grass is where much of Germany's mainstream is, or has been drifting.

Q - Whenever the foreign media discuss German intellectuals, Grass's name is always at or near the top of the list. Who are the other thinkers worthy of attention?

Habermas, of course. And Martin Walser. Arnulf Baring and Michael Stürmer aren't as famous, perhaps, but I have the greatest regard for them as historians and pundits alike. They are absolutely first-rate.

Q - Should America close its military bases in Germany?

Yes, some at least. The Cold War is over. Germans feel at best ambivalent about the US presence. That's fine. Obviously, our strategic requirements are changing rapidly. Still, I wonder what psychological impact this will have on Germany and its neighbours. I think the test of Germany finding its place in Europe will be tougher than most think.

Q - If the CDU wins this autumn's elections, what are the country's chances of gaining a permanent seat on the UN Security Council?

I still want to know why the Germans want a seat. Will the Security Council suddenly be more effective? Unlikely. Should Europe be over-represented, with France, the UK and now Berlin? Whatever happened to the "European" idea and the notion of an EU seat? Yes, if the CDU wins, Germany - at least in the short term - will be in better graces with Washington. But the permanent seat?

Q - Would a CDU victory automatically lead to a decline in anti-Americanism across the country? How significant is the influence of the breed of politicians that John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge - referring to the British scene - have described as "Michael Moore conservatives"?

Anti-Americanism runs deep. Bush is an excuse for many. Angela Merkel will not play the anti-American card the way Schroeder has done so. But she will have to fend off anti-Americanism on the right. Just watch after the 6-12 month honeymoon.

Q - It's generally agreed that America's public diplomacy is in a mess. What's the best remedy?

Good grief, where would you begin?!? A serious approach by the White House, and the right sort of training for diplomats - most simply do not have the right skills. A better ear for the problem, greater assistance to our friends and allies, especially among key editorial writers and law makers.

Q - What will the EU look like in 20 years time?

An association of nation states that trade and cooperate with each other in a number of areas. I do not envisage a United States of Europe with a common foreign and security policy.

Q - One recurrent theme of conservative commentary on Europe is that the continent is doomed to economic and demographic decline. Do you agree?

Doomed, no. But it is hard to be optimistic given the state of leadership in Europe today. Best bet is that Europe is neither an abysmal failure nor a smashing success in the next 20 years.

Q - Which European politicians do you most admire?

Helmut Kohl, for his role during the Cold War and re-unification. Margaret Thatcher for her sheer toughness.

Q - What is the one important lesson that Americans could learn from Germans? And vice versa?

Americans could learn from the Germans the virtue of patience. Germans could learn from the Americans just the opposite. Things in Germany can move at a snail's pace!

Q - What is your favourite German film?

I liked Sonnenallee.

Q - And your favourite German novel?

I guess Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain.

Q - What do you miss most about daily life in America?

Flexibility. Flexibility. Flexibilty.

Comments

[Howdy]

Prior to this, I had come across just one "Clive" in my entire life. Now there are two. And in both instances, they've been attached to the surname "Davis."

I know you've probably been dealing with dumb jokes and not-so-amusing comments for years, but I simply could not resist the compulsion to chronicle my observation.

[Clive]

No problem. Just wish I could find a way of getting my bank account mixed up with his...

[PSGInfinity]

Just hoping that Howdy's Clive isn't a pauper, of course. Must be careful these days, and all that...

Clive, I found you via Roger L. Simons' site. Your proposed series is off to a splendid start!

[Atlanticus]

Deutsche Welle interviewed several Americans and Germans regarding Schroeder's comments on Iran, including Jeff Gedmin:

>>Gedmin said that Europeans who didn't believe in taking military action against Iran and Americans, who believe that European negotiations with Iran will fail, were both in the right.
"We'll soon realize that Iran holds the better cards," he said, adding that people had to start thinking about how to deal with Iran as a nuclear power.<<

I did not expect this from Gedmin.

I learned about the Deutsche Welle piece through a comment on our blog. We were discussing Bush's and Schroeder's statements on Iran and the likelihood of attacks
http://atlanticreview.org/archives/109-War-against-Iran-Populism-against-the-US.html