Volume 27, Issue 12, october 26, 2004

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What Does the US Vote Mean for Germany?

A vast majority of Europeans are hoping for a change in the White House after the US election. But while John Kerry is the candidate of choice, would a Democratic administration be the best thing for US-German relations?

US presidential candidate John Kerry enjoys great popularity in Europe. In Germany, the Massachusetts senator commands an overwhelming majority in opinion polls, with almost 80 percent in favor of the Democrat.

But while the German public favors a change in the White House, deriving mostly from distaste for incumbent George W. Bush's policies, would a Kerry administration be the best thing for US-European and, in particular, US-German, relations?

Kerry speaks five languages, including fluent French. He went to school in Switzerland. He takes his vacations in France and has a European-born wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Jackson Janes of the Institute for Contemporary German Studies in Washington admitted these were good credentials for a future president. But he has reservations that these qualities will bring about a White House more endeared to Europe.

Kerry would neither be the opposite of Bush nor would he reform US foreign policy to engage with and consider the interests and ideas of Europe, Janes said. "This is complete nonsense," he told German public TV broadcaster ARD's "Tagesschau" news program. "All this friction which is here today, will still be there."

This friction comes in many guises: the Bush White House's refusal to back the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court, US policy in the Middle East and Israel, the American insistence on the right to defend its own security by force -- pre-emptive or preventative -- if necessary.

Different president, same problems

All these points of contention certainly wouldn't not be resolved from one day to the next; President Kerry would still face the same problems and issues that President Bush did. But a better atmosphere would likely be created if the reins of power were handed over to the Democrat.

However, it could also lead to more problems than solutions in Germany -- foremost among them being Iraq.

If the Democratic challenger is elected, his campaign pledge to create a stronger coalition and alliance in Iraq could take on contentious and even unsettling dimensions for some European countries, according to US Ambassador to Germany Daniel Coats in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Monday.

"Senator Kerry has indicated he would ask (for troops), so that's going to produce some difficult questions and some tensions here between the US and Germany -- if that happens," Coats told the paper.

Similar tensions over German stance on Iraq?

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder angered Bush during campaigning for the German general elections in Sept. 2002 when he vehemently opposed any military "adventure" in Iraq. Subsequently, Schröder has refused to send any troops to the war-torn country, but Germany is helping train Iraqi military officers and police outside the country.

Speaking during campaigning on Oct. 5, Kerry acknowledged that foreign powers would not "trade their young for our young in body-bags," but he said he would be able to get them involved in missions like securing Iraq's borders. "Those borders have become a sieve for weapons of mass destruction and those weapons of mass destruction are terrorists that are crossing them and coming in and blowing themselves up in cars," he said.

Kerry added that the current administration had no credibility to enlist US allies. "Every step of the way these folks have pushed them away," he said. "What I will do is bring new credibility, a fresh start."

Sticky situation for Schröder

That could put Schröder in a difficult position. Berlin would consider a Kerry administration friendly, and Germany would be one of the first stops for a new president. But if that visit included a call for military support in Iraq, a potential thawing of relations could quickly turn icy again and a new friend could be swiftly alienated.

If, on the other hand, Schröder changes track for the new administration, theGerman chancellor would face outrage at home that could have a decisive influence on his own chances for re-election in 2006.

Jackson Janes contended that Kerry would not demand a troop deployment from Schröder. "I do not believe that he expects Germany to send troops to Iraq. But I believe he would expect development aid. And much more than Germany has provided up to now," Janes told German television.

Re-election less demanding for Germany

Bush's re-election, however, would likely just lead to a continuation of the animosity between the two governments.

"I cannot imagine that Bush would say: what I have done during the first four years was a mistake. On the contrary," said Janes. Re-election, he believes, would be seen as endorsement of the first term and justification for the way the US treats the Europeans.

Either way, the result and the future of US-European relations lies in the hands of American voters, and it will surely be a challenge for all European countries, regardless of whether Bush or Kerry wins.

Working Women Face Upward Battle

Germany is lagging far behind when it comes to women in top managerial positions. Why is it so difficult for women to get ahead in Europe's largest economy?

Go to any German university campus, and you'll see endless female faces. But in most German boardrooms, the only women you'll see are the ones serving the coffee.

"It's certainly not a question of qualifications," said Jürgen Hindenberg, head of the Association for Further Training at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) in Bonn, at the presentation of a new course for female managers. Half of university graduates in Germany are women. But less than 4 percent of them make it into leading management positions.

Renate Schmidt, the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, has said too few women are top managers because of attitude. "The most serious cause for this is still the bias that women are not motivated and suitable enough," according to Schmidt.

But Carlotta Köster from the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) disagrees. "We cannot back this up with facts," Köster told DW-WORLD.

A career or a family: "a sad development"

Köster said that the dearth of women in executive positions development was mainly due to the "catastrophic situation" of child care in Germany. A woman wanting to climb the career ladder to the top is expected to work longer hours and show more dedication to her job. "But what can she do with her children if she works late or has to go on a business trip?" said Köster.

As family structures have changed, and there's no longer a grandmother nearby to help with the children, working women are dependent on public or private childcare facilities. And there are simply too few of them in Germany.

"A lot of women feel that they can't have both children and a career," said Köster. She said a recent study found that 40 percent of women with university degrees between the ages of 30 and 35 do not even have children. "This is a sad development."

BDA figures show that in lower management, the relation of men and women is 50-50. But with a rise in position, the ratio deviates.

Birds of a feather stick together

Various studies suggest that the concept of gender plays a large role here, too. Top positions are associated with common "male" traits, such as aggressiveness and the ability to assert oneself. And these are characteristics, which women "typically" don't have.

But women themselves are also often too modest, said Schmidt. "Women tend to hide their light under a bushel," the minister said in a statement earlier this year.

It is also human nature to favor working with a person who is similar to oneself. Since most top managers are men, they tend to choose younger men to follow in their footsteps. The fact that even women without families who do not want children are less likely to be helped up the career ladder supports this theory.

The old boys networks

"Men have long since recognized the principle of success," Schmidt has said. "You don't just reach your goals through qualifications and hard work, but also through the right contacts."

Hence, the old boys networks were born. Mentoring between men has been around for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, Mentor was a friend of Odysseus, who gave advice to his son Telemachus. His name is synonymous with the concept of a faithful and wise adviser.

In the meantime, all large German companies have mentoring and shadowing programs to support young women in their ranks, too. And it makes sense to continue to help them, when you consider the economic costs of educating women, according to Schmidt.

"If Germany wants to remain internationally competitive, it would be economic nonsense to not take advantage of the qualifications of over half of the population: women," she said.

Women must be armed

But while the German economy cannot do without women, they in turn have to be ready for a rough climate. On their career path, women face more and other restraints than men, the IHK's Hindenberg said. Since they're confronted with different challenges, they need different strategies to deal with them.

The IHK, for example, has just announced it will offer a six-month course called "Fit for Success" for women in management positions. But the course doesn't cover rhetoric or communication. Rather, it will teach women the rules of the game in the top echelons and the strategies needed to get there.

However, Minister Schmidt (photo) said that women's opportunities cannot be achieved by adapting to the male model of life.

"Rather, we need a model in which not the men set the benchmark, which women must adapt to, but where the needs of women, children and men are the gage," she said in a statement.

A matter of time

According to the IHK, of the 525 board positions in Germany's 100 leading companies, seven are held by women.

One of the few, Karin Dorrepaal, recently became the first woman to be named to the executive board of one of the 30 blue chip companies listed on the German Stock Index, pharmaceutical giant Schering.

Perhaps this appointment marks the beginning of a new era of top female managers. "The number of women in leading positions is slowing but surely rising," BDA's Köster said. "It's just a matter of time, although it's not moving as quickly as we'd like."

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