The same applies to the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council: nothing can prevent the government from adapting to changing circumstances. The world is changing, and outdated bureaucracy should not be a barrier to Germany responding to those changes.
The main problem in German foreign policy is not the organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Putin doesn’t care whether Political Department 2 takes care of Russia or the new European department. And the fact that disarmament and arms export controls will be addressed alongside security policy in the future does not change the fact that the signs of the times point towards rearmament, both globally and in Germany itself.
What the debate in Syria shows
The biggest obstacle to a foreign policy that “puts German and European interests first”, as the Foreign Minister once called it, is universalist thinking that is not only deeply rooted at home. Wadephul recently revealed in the Syria debate that he still has a long way to go.
His objections regarding the return of refugees take into account the interests of Syrian refugees, but do not take into account Germany’s interests: this requires aid in their countries of origin and reconstruction in the important countries of origin of refugees. It is grateful that after Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine became known, the Minister of Foreign Affairs invited the public to think about it first.
