Commentators warn Germany 'lost credibility' by abstaining from UN security council resolution but opinion poll backs decision
Germany's decision to join Russia and China in abstaining from the UN security council resolution authorising military action against Libya has led to widespread soul searching from commentators and journalists.
Earlier this week, a veteran war reporter for the German state broadcaster ZDF said he was ashamed to be congratulated by Gaddafi's henchmen for Germany's stance. "It's embarrassing to get a pat on the back from Gaddafi's supporters saying 'Germany good'", said Dietmar Ossenberg, according to the tabloid Bild.
Another reporter from the state-owned ARD said the Egyptians had been reluctant to let him across the border from Libya when they realised he was German, saying: "We're disappointed in you" and "We don't need you". Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer dismissed his country's foreign policy as "a farce".
"Germany has lost its credibility in the United Nations and in the Middle East," wrote Fischer in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "German hopes for a permanent seat on the security council have been permanently dashed and one is now fearful of Europe's future."
Germany's abstention was a "scandalous mistake" he said, adding that Germany's politics were becoming ever more "provincial" – a reference to the widely held view that the coalition government's current decisions are coloured by two key regional elections to be held on Sunday in Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland Pfalz. The former in particular is seen as a referendum on the chancellor Angela Merkel, as it has been governed by her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party for almost 58 years.
On Thursday, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Germany's conservative broadsheet, said the consequences of Germany's abstention were: "estrangement from its allies, who ultimately came to different conclusions and decisions; [de facto] praise for Gaddafi; friction in Nato; and conflict at home among the coalition."
The FAZ claimed Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, had wanted to vote against the UN resolution rather than merely abstain, but was persuaded against doing so by Merkel.
But it would seem the German abstention is in step with the wishes of German people. Results of a poll by Emnid showed 66% of Germans were against German participation in international military action in Libya.