Marriage counseling for Obama and Europe

U.S. President Barack Obama meets his European colleagues, including David Cameron (center) and Chancellor Angela Merkel
After a long phase of infatuation to disillusionment for Europe is hard: Barack Obama is as American as his predecessor George W. Bush. The relationship is like a marriage marked by old misunderstandings. A comment. By Tobias Peter

The story of Barack Obama and the Europeans is the story of a double misunderstanding. Many in Europe longed for the time George W. Bush brought so much that they kept the open and communicative occurring Obama the same for one of their own. This would anyone who has been listening to Obama's speech in Berlin five years ago, you know: This president would be as American as its predecessor - and, if necessary, or even occasionally enforce American interests determined brutal.



The second misunderstanding is on Obama's side. Perhaps it was then intoxicated by herself cheering with which he was held in Berlin, and of the positive expectations that prevailed all over the world. Anyway, he seems to have actually believed it was sufficient to be a little bit nice, then the Allies would already do what it claims. He has underestimated that the Europeans - sometimes right, sometimes unjustified - can be headstrong and stubborn. To make matters worse, the same is true for each individual country.

U.S. President in Germany
 
The transatlantic relationship can best be compared with a pair that determines how retracted his own marriage is and how little the usual division of roles is still working. The tired, annoyed patriarch complains: "I always have to look after everything, and then you never what is right." From the other side it echoes answer: "Do not like this. You decide everything myself anyway and then expect that I clean after you. Give yourself time but at least some effort to understand my inner life. "

The complicated is that both parties are right in their own way. And that does not change anything from now on the same. The Europeans continue to rely on the military strength of the United States - not least because it will take a long time to agree the EU countries themselves to a truly common security structure. Only: as long as the Americans are not willing to at least piece by piece and to share leadership and leave, they offer no incentive to change anything.

Obama is coming: Final preparations, but also protests

A marriage counselor would probably recommend now to start a new joint project - at eye level! A free trade zone could be such a project. It is certainly difficult to agree on genetically modified food and other problem areas, but it's worth it. With a common economic space of the EU and U.S. would economically rapidly rising China oppose something. Money is power - and especially America has too much debt in Beijing. Who wants to live in a world where the strongest forces are to be found in China ruled by undemocratic?

The transatlantic marriage must hold, not least a lack of alternatives. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Obama should be able to work together for pragmatic. At least the two probably have had together never wrong, euphoric expectations. With the "prism" scandal to the Internet monitoring by the U.S., confidence in Obama Germans approaches zero. This is a good moment to make a clean sweep and start over. Perhaps, for example by the President in more detail reveals what his intelligence agencies know everything about us.