Word: merkel
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...tough new sanctions would be applied. Brown called the new development the greatest challenge facing the international community. But Germany, which has recently shown reticence to expand sanctions without approval from the entire European Union, was inexplicably absent from the event. Obama was left to explain that Chancellor Angela Merkel had a more pressing engagement. More important, after hinting in recent days that Russia might be willing to support broader sanctions against Iran, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev was absent from the rostrum, as was Chinese leader Hu Jintao. Both men are present in Pittsburgh for the G-20. Statements...
...effects of past sanctions and buying time to advance its nuclear program, which by now has enough low-enriched uranium to enable it to produce sufficient highly enriched uranium for one nuclear weapon. It seems as if the Iranian leadership may have pulled the same trick again. Perhaps Merkel really did have a more pressing engagement - the German embassy did not immediately return calls requesting an explanation. But for all the positive spin U.S. officials had put on Russia's hints of greater willingness to support new sanctions, Medvedev's absence from the podium on Friday spoke far more loudly...
...precious little disagreement between the parties most likely to form a new government. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current Foreign Minister and the SPD's candidate for Chancellor, at one point appeared to suggest a timetable for German troop withdrawal, then beat a swift retreat from anything so radical. Steinmeier, Merkel and Guido Westerwelle, the leader of the Free Democrats (FDP) and a possible replacement for Steinmeier as Foreign Minister after the elections, have all indicated a desire to see an orderly end to the German deployment. Any new government faces the same problem of balancing the deepening unpopularity of Germany...
...There's obvious potential for friction with Washington when President Barack Obama comes calling for more troops. Still, relations between Germany and the U.S. have improved under Merkel. Her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, fell out with President George W. Bush over Germany's opposition to the Iraq war. Merkel smoothed over the rift and has tried to foster good relations with the current Administration. But there have been strains. Merkel was critical of the U.S. government's handling of the economic crisis. In return, some voices in Washington accused Merkel's government of stinting on its stimulus programs...
...coming elections will determine how Germany decides to nurture its fragile recovery and address other central questions of economic policy. If Merkel manages to form her preferred coalition with the FDP, the new government would be less likely than the current grand coalition to intervene to bolster big industry, choosing to stimulate the economy instead with tax cuts and investment incentives. As Germany is the world's fourth largest economy and second biggest exporter, its economic management is of global concern. And with little change expected to Germany's foreign policy, the rest of the world will likely pay closer...