AKK, the German MinDéf, specialist in ideas without follow-up, in the trough of the wave?
(B2) Annegret Kamp-Karrenbauer, alias 'AKK', a name to roll your eyes in Brussels, has multiplied, since her arrival as Minister of Defense, untimely statements, bogus ideas and cascading contradictions
Arrived last June to replace Ursula von der Leyen, party at the head of the European Commission (read: AKK new Minister of Defense in Germany), the future of AKK seemed all mapped out. Like a rising arrow, she was to be called to the highest office, to replace the irremovable Angela Merkel in the fall of 2021. But February 10 was a black date for AKK. She then announces her démission of the head of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU), after the waltz-hesitation with the extreme right in the Land of Thuringia (1), and thus closes the doors of its promised future. His very maintenance at the head of the Ministry of Defense seems to be in question today.
Four good bad ideas
Germany had accustomed us to having fairly 'square' officials, at least at the head of the major ministries (Foreign Affairs, Economy, Defence, etc.). With AKK, it's just the opposite. His sweeping declarations, his unrealizable projects, ended up causing the old, well-organized Prussian tradition to pass away in favor of a media folklore that was thought to be reserved for more tropical republics.
Safety tips here and there
While she was 'only' head of the CDU last March, Annegret Kamp-Karrenbauer presented a long list of proposals to strengthen the presence of Germany and the European Union in the world. On the program, a single seat for the European Union on the United Nations Security Council, and the creation of its little brother in Brussels: a Security Council of the European Union. Two ideas that have been around for a while, but aren't moving forward and probably won't be anytime soon. In particular, the French have no interest in abandoning their veto at the UN in favor of their European neighbors. Two incongruous ideas moreover, while the '27' still find it difficult to speak with a common voice on the majority of international issues.
A European aircraft carrier?
In the process, it proposes the construction of a common European aircraft carrier (read: Common aircraft carrier, common seat on the Security Council… The fair for good ideas by Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer). " A highly symbolic project, to underline the role of the European Union in the world as a power that guarantees security and peace. Certainly, but above all a project that seems to have come out of nowhere. It does not appear in the defense capability forecasts. And the German Navy did not plan such a tool. Moreover, it is quite surprising from a political and operational point of view. There are many questions, starting with knowing what would be the political control of such a tool in Franco-German, between defense policies that can often be divergent. This proposal seems rather to be made to be lathered and to be refused (read: A European aircraft carrier project: is it really serious?).
A 'Schutzzone' in Syria
We all remember his proposal, largely lacking in detail, for the creation of a security zone (Protection zone) in northern Syria, Turkey's old idea. This proposal, which came shortly after the Turkish offensive on Syrian territory in early October, presented to the NATO allies, however raises more questions than it answers: who would control it? Europeans ? the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad? The Americans despite their disengagement from the Middle East? The idea is not bad in itself, but it appears on time and very little worked (read: A safety zone (Schutzzone) in northern Syria. AKK's proposal still (very) vague). And the NATO allies have neither the means nor the desire to propel it. It falls into the water very quickly in less than a few hours, a few days, say the optimists.
Minister of Foreign Affairs or of Defence?
The last intervention, to say the least foreign, dates from a little over two weeks ago. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio reveals in a interview to the daily La Stampa to have received an astonishing proposal from the German Defense Minister: to join the E3 group (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) on the Iranian nuclear dossier. " An opening, only, for now, we have to think “Says the minister, whom we have known to be more reckless. This proposal is indeed very surprising in a very delicate area, because it is an international agreement guaranteed by a resolution of the United Nations Security Council. It is moreover the prerogative of Foreign Affairs, even of Heads of State or Government, but very rarely that of Defense Ministers, who are careful not to make any inroads there.
Operational contradictions
Despite numerous declarations in favor of Defense Europe and the desire to have a more active positioning of Germany on the international and security levels, the fairly clear refusal to engage in new areas of operation in the Sahel or in the Gulf sounds strange. In operational terms, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer seems reluctant to send Bundeswehr troops into the field alongside their European colleagues.
Germany absent from new operations
In the Sahel, while the French are engaging more strongly militarily, the German government seems very embarrassed by France's repeated requests to accompany them in Takuba. He says he prefers a commitment within the framework of the European Union (read FAZ). While the Sahel has been promoted to priority No. 1 in Berlin, the French initiative receives a mere sigh from the German Ministry of Defense. " No information is available on the concrete form of the French initiative he discards (read: German engagement in the Sahel. A test of truth for Berlin, for Europe too…).
A notable absence that irritates
The refusal to join Takuba remains in the throats of the French. Germany remains on the doorstep of the G5 Sahel summit in Pau in January. This while it is part, with France, of the partnership for security and stability in the Sahel (P3S). This very diplomatic dissension is in addition to that on the strengthening of EU military operations in Mali, which led the French and Germans to 'quarrel' at the Political and Security Committee (COPS), just before Christmas (read: The Sahel, an open wound between French and Germans. The summit of Pau across the Berlin Gorge).
An operation in the Strait of Hormuz claimed and then abandoned
The topo is repeated on the commitment in the Gulf. The Germans are indeed sponsoring the establishment of a maritime surveillance operation near the Strait of Hormuz, going so far as to claim for a moment not only the paternity, but also the direction (read: Towards a combined Franco-German-British maritime operation in the Strait of Hormuz. Discussions continue). Then they withdrew, sending neither a boat nor even a few officers to the EMASOH mission set up fairly quickly by Paris with the help of The Hague and Copenhagen (read: The operation in the Strait of Hormuz resurfaces. The French at the maneuver). On all its files, the Minister of Defense is absent subscribers …
(Aurélie Pugnet, with NGV)
- His resignation came only after regional members of the CDU participated in the appointment of Thomas Kemmerich (FDP - liberal) as president of the Land of Thuringia, alongside the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) the far-right party. German right.
