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February 24, 2005

Schröder and Bush, out of politeness...

It was just a quick stop, something like a break on the european tour of George W. Bush. Nothing of interest was said, but his meeting with the German chancellor Gerard Schröder, on February 23rd, was maybe the perfect illustration of today's relationships between Europe and the United States: Stay polite, smile, try to be friends (again) and to forget the dissensions.

Gerard Schröder started with a letter in Bild, the bigest German weekly, beginning with a warm "Welcome to Germany" and "I am delighted with this meeting with president Bush and his wife Laura".
Everything was done to try to forget the dissensions about Iraq.

The French daily Liberation wrote about the meeting: "Symbolically, it was successful. Cordial handshakes, review of German and American soldiers, lunch with 109 guests. The chancellor did not spare his efforts for his host."
But also "the meeting will not appear in the history books" (despite a pact to cut coal emissions in China, India and other developing countries), insisting on the simple exchanges of courtesies on annoying subjects.

At the same time, Mainz, where the meeting took place, looked like a fortress. 71 flights were cancelled at Frankfort International, barges were not allowed around the city, mailboxes were dismantled and the manhole covers were sealed. 7000 people went demonstrating on the streets. Their message was just the opposit of that of Mr Schröder: "Not welcome, Mr Bush!"

Posted February 24, 2005 08:34 PM

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