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With polls predicting that German parliamentary elections on Sept. 27 could propel the Free Democrats into government as a coalition partner with Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, Westerwelle now looks within reach of a job at least as serious as his demeanor. Such an outcome would represent a substantial shift in German politics. Governing with the Social Democrats since 2005, Chancellor Merkel, though firmly on the center-right in most questions, has often tacked to the left to preserve her coalition. She has said that she would prefer to govern with the FDP, but that would recast the Social Democrats...
Westerwelle espouses the economic liberalism that has always defined the FDP, and under his eight-year command he has positioned his party as the champion of the Mittelstand, Germany's formidable family-owned companies. "When a big company gets into difficulty, the German eagle comes to the rescue. When a Mittelstand company gets into trouble, the vultures circle," Westerwelle said in May. His recipe for growth: encourage private investment and cut taxes. "You can sign 100 stimulus programs but if investing doesn't gain momentum, the economy won't get better," he says...
...business that Berlin insiders have tipped him to take the Finance or Economics Ministry after the elections, should he end up in government. The traditional slot for the head of the junior coalition partner, though, is the Foreign Ministry, and Westerwelle has been busily boning up on international affairs. "German foreign policy has to be value-based but also directed by our interests," he says. "Naturally, you always have to take economic interests into account - we want to sell German and European products in other countries. But you always have to maintain your values...
...leader welcomed President Obama's election. "Hopefully it signals the return to a model of cooperation that we consider very important," says Westerwelle. But Washington shouldn't expect too much love. Westerwelle is determined to avoid mission creep in Afghanistan. All but a handful of the 4,500 German troops are deployed in the north of the country, away from the fiercest fighting in the south. "We shouldn't risk our successful operations in the north by taking on duties in other areas," he says...
More and more, however, the fight is coming to the Germans. Some analysts even speculate the Taliban is deliberately ramping up hostilities ahead of the Sept. 27 German election, much as they intimidated Afghan voters last month. On Saturday, a day after the airstrike, three German soldiers were injured when a car packed with explosives exploded next to a passing convoy three miles outside of Kunduz. Indeed, Berlin's continued role in Afghanistan has become the crux of a heated public debate back in Germany. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the foreign minister bidding to oust chancellor Angela Merkel, has openly called...