Merkel may be tied on foreign policy
Berlin A close associate of outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was nominated Thursday as the country’s next foreign minister, raising questions about how much Germany’s conservative new leader will be able to mold foreign policy.
Frank Walter Steinmeier, Schroeder’s chief of staff, was chosen by his party colleagues for the post, one of eight selections the Social Democrats have in the new Cabinet under a power-sharing deal with Chancellor-designate Angela Merkel.
Steinmeier, a 49-year-old lawyer, has been a low-profile but powerful figure in Schroeder’s government.
The choice of a close Schroeder associate as foreign minister underscores the limits Merkel may face in putting her stamp on foreign policy. She has vowed to reinvigorate ties with the United States frayed by Schroeder’s opposition to the Iraq war, and to place less emphasis on Schroeder’s close partnership with France. But she had to bargain away key ministries in order to get the Social Democrats to join in a coalition and make her Germany’s first female chancellor.
Rice cuts some slack for Central Asian leaders
Dushanbe, Tajikistan Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday gently pressed the rulers of two former Soviet states to liberalize their democracies, recalling Washington’s balancing act with friendly dictators during the Cold War.
Rice’s praise for economic innovation in Kazakhstan and cooperation in the fight against terrorism in Tajikistan were part of a political calculation in Central Asia. The region is rich in oil and gas and is a strategic crossroad for Europe, Russia and China.
Rice said the United States would not trade away democratic principles in the interest of stability. But she refrained from direct public criticism of leaders such as Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose government disbanded a main opposition party and banned demonstrations around a scheduled Dec. 4 presidential election.
“Central Asia is a region that has not had a democratic past,” Rice said after a meeting with Tajikistan’s authoritarian president, Imomali Rakhmonov. Like Nazarbayev, he is a wily veteran of the old Soviet hierarchy.
“The important issue is to take these countries where they are and see them make progress,” Rice said.
Chinese astronaut has birthday in space
Beijing Astronauts carrying out China’s second manned space mission adjusted the position of their spacecraft early today after it drifted in orbit, moving slightly toward Earth, the government said.
The operation came hours after state television showed the two men aboard the Shenzhou 6 capsule at work and play, giving an unusually intimate view into the secretive space program on their record-setting mission.
Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng blasted off Wednesday on a mission that the communist government hopes will win it respect abroad and public support at home.
On Thursday, Nie celebrated his 41st birthday in orbit. State television showed his 11 year-old-daughter, Tianxiang, singing “Happy Birthday” to him by radio from the launch base. Nie clapped and told his daughter: “It’s marvelous around here. The Earth looks beautiful.”
Such a personal view into the expensive prestige project, following a liftoff shown live on national TV, appeared to reflect growing official confidence and sophistication in the government’s efforts to engage the public.