Also, the visibility of US tourists on the streets of Frankfurt and their apparent disappointment with the outcome of the election is not to be missed. On the morning after the election they were to be seen drowned in deep, sincere depression, scrolling the info pages on their smartphones, their spirits falling. One could see on their faces the shame, probably for the first time in their lives, of their own homeland.

German news seem particularly interested in the outcome of the election, since it proved strongly opposed to Donald Trump over the time his campaign evolved. Though careful and reserved, most journalist point out the possible negative influence Donald Trump may have on the worlds politics, including Germany’s. Notwithstanding Donald Trump’s visible disgust with immigrants, particularly from the Arab Word, and Angela Merkel’s immigrant policy, there are other issues already bothering this country’s policymakers and journalists.

For starters, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published an interview with Wolfgang Kubicki, FDP’s (Free Democratic Party), and as out-of-the game as he is (FDP is outsider of the parliament), his words present the basic challenges of German politics. Next year’s Bundestag election might result in Angela Merkel’s stepping down. The crucial question is who will take her place. To answer this one should first wait and see what subjects will take over the news, once the campaign is fully blown. Will it be overly about safety and integration or will such themes as pension system and economy make it to the surface? If so, this might mean, that Germans still have some common sense and don’t let populists manipulate them to an extent witnessed in US. Domestic politics aren’t though the only challenging factors right now, as Mr. Kubicki points out: „It will be a moods based election: which political powers will be able to manoeuvre us out of the next war? Will we normalise our relations towards Russia? What will our American friends do, and are they still our friends at all? When you listen to the next president Donald Trump, I fear, that VW soon won’t be allowed to sell it’s vehicles to the US any more”[1].

Such fears resemble the nation’s general mood. The poll published recently by ZDF releases the fact, that „82 percent of Germans think Trump’s election is “bad” or “very bad.” Germans have been horrified by Trump’s nativism, misogyny, and racism, which dragged the U.S. presidential campaign into the gutter. To many Germans, the AfD’s leaders seem like public intellectuals in comparison”[2]. In comparison with some other European countries, as we can read in the same Foreign Affairs article, Germany’s right wing populists are still not that much likely to win the next vote. The society is still more compassionate that xenophobic, more attached to the rule of law, than to the rule of the strongest[3]. This comes as more of a contrast now that the other side of the ocean seems to Germans as if it was occupied by the bunch of Neanderthals. The peril of loosing the safety of NATO and perks of free trade seems now more real then ever and thus, it comes as no surprise, that it’s what Germans can find in their newspapers every day. Each day brings new issues that bring Germany and US apart, the newsiest of all being the climate protection deal. Just a few days ago the coalition agreed to reduce carbon emissions by 95% by 2050[4], while American companies voice together the demand that Trump doesn’t drop the Paris climate deal[5].

As more and more things divide those two countries and nations, it is only a matter of time, when the question of who is now the leader of the world will be answered. Will it be Angela Merkel, despite her weakening position within the coalition, or her successor? That Germany becomes the world’s leader is, so Foreign Affairs, within reach[6]. Key to that would be getting a strong grip on the matters within European Union and forging positive, yet reserved, relations with America. We will see it happen on our eyes, yet, we should remember that it is also in our hands to choose those capable of manoeuvring us out of the distress, so visibly created by right-wing populists. Donald Trump’s victory might be a shock therapy for Germans and steer them away from their own populists from AfD, but the moods might calm down till their own big day. Unless the French give them another hard blow in the meantime.

Dorota Pawłowska

[1] O. Georgi, T. Holl, „Ich befürchte, dass VW bald keine Autos mehr nach Amerika liefern darf“, http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/wolfgang-kubicki-spricht-ueber-trump-merkel-afd-und-vw-14531626.html, 17.11.2016.

[2] T. Benner, Germany Can Protect the Liberal Order, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/germany/2016-11-16/germany-can-protect-liberal-order, 18.11.2016.

[3] Ibidem.

[4] German coalition agrees to cut carbon emissions up to 95% by 2050, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/11/german-coalition-agrees-to-cut-carbon-emissions-up-to-95-by-2050, 18.11.2016.

[5] H. Tabuchi, U.S. Companies to Trump: Don’t Abandon Global Climate Deal, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/business/energy-environment/us-companies-to-trump-dont-abandon-global-climate-deal.html?smid=fb-nytscience&smtyp=cur&_r=0, 18.11.2016.

[6] T.Benner, Ibidem.