Annalena Bairbock, the former co-chair of the Greens and now the first woman to serve as Germany’s top diplomat, is completing three months in power on International Women’s Day (March 8).
It has emerged as one of the country’s most popular politicians, also earning overwhelming praise from conservatives for its clarity and stability in a time of great turmoil across Europe and major changes in German foreign policy.
On Thursday, Deutschlandtrend’s monthly poll found that Baerbock was easily Germany’s second most prominent politician, after Chancellor Olaf Solz, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). About 50% of respondents said they were either happy or very happy with her job – a huge increase of 14 percentage points from the same period last month.
The growing appreciation for Baerbock stems largely from the way it handled the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Twitter, German users hailed her as “made for the role” of foreign minister and “the best choice” for the job that Chancellor Soltz could do.
Analysts have also noted that in the run-up to the German federal election in 2021, Baerbock was the only candidate for chancellor who described Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline as wrong. Less than two weeks ago, amid Russian aggression against Ukraine, Scholz indefinitely blocked the pipeline.
Exceeding expectations
In general, German media, such as the weekly The game and Die Zeit, applaud the foreign minister who “spoke clearly” about the crisis and also spoke directly to the Kremlin. When she went to Moscow in the days before the invasion, she seemed unperturbed by her surroundings.
In a speech to the United Nations last week, Bairbok looked directly at its Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and said: “You are abusing your power as a permanent member of the Security Council … You can deceive yourself, but you do. do not deceive us “.
Paul-Anton Krüger, Leading Foreign Policy Writer for Süddeutsche Zeitung Every day, she said, “she made no attempt to hide behind empty diplomatic phrases. That’s good and it’s too late.”
Krüger said the first months of Baerbock’s tenure confirmed to the general public she spoke about in the autumn, that “switching to renewable energy as soon as possible … is now mandatory”, both for climate protection reasons. as well as security policy. European countries are trying to wean themselves off Russian gas.
In an article published on Bavarian public television last week, foreign policy correspondent Barbara Kostolnik wrote last week about how Baerbock exceeded expectations: “How many doubts, reservations and resentments were heard and read when Annalena Baerbock, , mother, 40, entered the Foreign Ministry as Germany’s top diplomat. “More or less openly, many foreign policy observers have often asked women, ‘Can she do this?’
Her campaign to become Germany’s chancellor has been marred by cyber-trolling but also by small scandals such as the plagiarism of parts of her 2021 book and the delay in paying the tax on a Christmas bonus. Bayerbok admitted her mistakes and repeatedly apologized, putting her firmly on the defensive, something that many considered to make her look weak. Now, Kostolnik points out, in the face of a crisis, “there is nothing left of that Annalena Baerbock, an insecure, tense, tearful woman.”
“It started carefully,” Kostolnik said, but quickly emerged as a determined, clear leader acting on behalf of Germany internationally.
Baerbock’s statement the day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took the right note: “We woke up in a different world today … We are surprised, but not helpless.” These words, which were considered refreshingly open and honest, were accepted in Germany as public contact.
“This young lady”
During Baerbock’s campaign for chancellor and the first days of her term, conservative experts wondered if the young mother was ready for work. But he went on to argue that if it were possible for Jacinda Ardern to combine a career and a political career in New Zealand, then it would also be possible in Germany. Baerbock has two elementary school daughters and a husband who lives at home.
The first days of her tenure saw users use social media to ridicule every trivial slip of her tongue. For example, when he spoke of “fressefreiheit” (which could be understood as a colloquial term for freedom of speech) instead of “pressefreiheit” (freedom of the press), a video of the error went viral on Twitter.
In February, it became clear that not everyone had overcome their sexist attitude towards the German Foreign Minister when Christoph von Marschall, his correspondent Tagesspiegel On a daily basis, she referred to the 41-year-old top diplomat as “this young lady” on television, wondering if she was suitable for her role during a trip to Ukraine where she visited soldiers wearing jackets and military helmets. His comments were met with a barrage of criticism and accusations of sexism.
According to Agnieszka Brugger, an expert on the Greens’ defense policy, Baerbock’s feminist tendencies have given her a special insight, especially with regard to the current conflict.
Brueger told DW’s Rosalia Romaniec that one of Baerbock’s talents “contradicts the narrative that powerful states have specific zones of geopolitical influence with a different story, that of human security and human rights.”
Brueger highlighted two exemplary Bayerbok quotes: “Security is about ‘whether families and children in the middle of our Europe can grow up safely and peacefully’, and when, after her trip to the Donbass region of Ukraine, the foreign minister said that “only when women are safe is everyone safe”.
Climate policy comes second
When Baerbock took office in December 2021, she announced the transfer of responsibility for international climate policy from the Environment Ministry to her Foreign Ministry and said she would be Germany’s chief negotiator at the UN climate conference. This gives foreign climate policy a higher priority than before in the “lantern” government. This was seen as an upgrade for the Foreign Office, which had lost ground to the Chancellery in recent years.
Since then, the issue has taken a back seat – with the exception of the appointment of Greenpeace International chief Jennifer Morgan to the post of special envoy for international climate policy at the State Department three weeks ago.
Whether Baerbock’s current popularity remains long-term remains to be seen. But she used the first three months of her term to defy her skeptics and maintain her own on the world stage.
Edited by: Rina Goldenberg
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