Post-Election Realities: The Domestic and International Consequences

In these video clips from the AGI Annual Symposium on November 12, 2013, panelists discuss how post-election German and American leaders will face monumental political and economic challenges. The following videos are included in this embedded playlist:

The NSA Scandal and the Man on the Street (2:45): Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy reminds us that German-American relations are defined by overwhelming agreement. “There is no doubt in my mind that we will get through this.” To view the video, click here.

How Long Will We Remember the NSA Scandal? (11:48): Amb. Murphy, Friedrich Merz, and MdB Dietmar Nietan provide varying perspectives on transatlantic cooperation after the NSA scandal. Will the “breach of trust” have long or short legs? Will it impede TTIP? Are there no more red lines? To view the video, click here.

Will Congress Allow Pres. Obama to Succeed on TTIP? (1:54): Amb. Murphy answers an audience member’s question on whether the Republican caucus will allow the president to get credit for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). To view the video, click here.

Labor Costs and Competitiveness in Germany and Europe (2:40): Friedrich Merz argues that Germany has benefited from lower labor unit costs and should stay on its economic course. To view the video, click here.

Whatever Germany’s choices for leadership in the September elections are the challenges ahead and into 2014 remain the same. The domestic issues will be shaped primarily by the economic environment within Germany as well as within the European area, but also by the global arena. The ability of Berlin to continue to steer successfully through economic volatility will depend on political trust and confidence in the government. The debate over Germany’s role and responsibility in the EU will remain intense as will the demands on Germany in dealing with the global challenges in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Burden sharing within Europe as well as within the transatlantic community will continue to be a work in progress without consensus. In the U.S., the debate over how to find a balance between domestic priorities and foreign policy demands will continue to drive the discourse between the White House and Congress, particularly as the U.S. moves into a critical Congressional election year in 2014.

The efforts by Germany and Europe to find common economic ground with the U.S. will be on display during the so-called TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) negotiations. Yet the pressures on both sides of the Atlantic in dealing with the crises in the post-Arab Spring region, the civil war in Syria, the negotiations with a new government in Tehran, as well as with Russia, China, and indeed, increasingly the dangers in sub-Saharan Africa, require attention.

Moderator:

Dr. Jackson Janes
President, AGI

Panelists:

Friedrich Merz, Partner, Mayer Brown LLP; Chairman, Atlantik-Brücke
Ambassador Philip Murphy, Founder, Murphy Endeavors
Dietmar Nietan, SPD, German Bundestag
Mayor Boris Palmer, Mayor of Tübingen
Dr. Andreas Schockenhoff, CDU, German Bundestag