German leader wins vote on sending troops abroad

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder won his game of chicken Friday with his junior coalition partner, the Greens, forcing them to support the government in a confidence vote over German participation in the war in Afghanistan.

On one level, the vote was historic, because it gave Parliament's approval to the deployment beyond Europe of German troops in a combat role for the first time since 1945 -- even if very few of them are expected to be asked to fight.

But on another level, the narrowness of the margin showed how far the German government has to travel to become the reliable foreign policy partner for the United States that Schroeder wants it to be.

Schroeder won the vote of confidence with 336 votes, only two more than the simple majority that he needed, after four Green Party legislators opposed to the war reluctantly reversed themselves and backed the coalition. One member of Schroeder's Social Democrats who opposed the deployment decided to quit his party and vote independent.

Schroeder's coalition with the Greens, which survives for now, looks badly wounded. He won, but he did so by humiliating his coalition partner, forcing the Greens to sacrifice principle for power and appear to be hypocrites.

A Green Party congress next weekend still could break the government apart. Much of the party is opposed to the war in Afghanistan and angry about the compromises that power, and Schroeder, have forced upon them.

The coalition also could limp along until elections next year. But many Greens worry that they may not do well enough in those elections to remain in Parliament.

"I'm delighted to be able to continue to do my work for Germany," Schroeder said at a news conference after the vote. "This decision shows that when things get serious, this coalition sticks together."

Schroeder and his foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, a Green, see Germany's support for the United States in the war against terrorism as a test of their generation, whose liberal politics were forged in anti-Vietnam War protests and the mood of revolution that swept western Europe in 1968. Speaking in the debate on Friday, Schroeder said: "Through this contribution the united and sovereign Germany meets its growing responsibility in the world."

But conservative leader Edmund Stoiber, a likely challenger to Schroeder in the next elections, said: "The seeds of destruction have been planted in this coalition." Michael Glos, another conservative, told Schroeder: "If you break someone's spine, you can't expect them to support you further down the road."

The agony of the Greens was palpable, with the eight members opposed to the deployment deciding to split their votes to keep the coalition alive.

Gregor Gysi of the Party of Democratic Socialists, the former East German Communist Party, which has come out openly against the war, was sarcastic about the Greens. They voted for the war, he said, "because of their fear of losing their little mandate."

Wolfgang Gerhardt of the free-market Free Democrats -- the party to which Schroeder might turn for a new coalition if and when his partnership with the Greens finally falls apart -- said the Greens had no realistic alternative to the military campaign. "Applying psychotherapeutic cures to terrorists will not suffice."

Schroeder's pledge of military assistance, which includes 3,900 troops, doesn't involve ground troops or participation in airstrikes. Germany has offered special forces, ships, a medical evacuation unit and armored vehicles equipped to detect nuclear, chemical and germ warfare.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright