Germany, a Spring Story

President’s Traian Basescu’s close visit to Germany offers me the privilege of several "thoughts and remembrances", that is to quote from the famous memoirs of Chancellor Bismarck.

For an aspect easier to understand, I will organize them as it follows:

1 Germany, together with France, is modern Romania’s fate. Eminescu, Maiorescu and Caragiale, the entire evolution of our classic culture, owed the idealist philosophy dimension, the clarity of the humanist message or, simply, the safe place for their studies or exiles to Germany. King Carol I was German, and his dynasty, which coincides with 80 years of Romania’s European modernization, offered warranties to Napoleon III and Chancellor Bismarck in the same time. It was a memento of the French-German joining for Romania’s European integration, which is still valid.

2 At the beginning of the Middle Age and, then, in the XVII-th century the two German-related nations, the Sas and the Svabs, migrated to Romania, in Transylvania. Catholics and protestants, hardworking, loyal and serious, have been an essential historical factor for the Romanian civilization and balance. 800,000 Germans and as many Jews were still living in Romania in 1938. The horrors of the war started by the Nazis and the forced assessment of the communism have destroyed this huge source of historical progress for good. "Our Germans" and their successors, "our Jews" and their successors who nowadays live in Germany, Israel, Austria or anywhere else still care for their ancestry country and represent a natural lobby for Romania, in its proceeding of finding back the way to Europe. We shouldn’t forget them as well.

3 The political Romanian-German relationships are complex. The Romanians, started as allies of Germany and ended up as its enemies in two World Wars. The Germans have learned that assiduity and belief, sometimes catastrophic for themselves, are qualities as important as flexibility and historical surprising change of the course, which the Romanians favor. The Germans see that less when talking about the Bulgarians or the Hungarians, our neighbors, rivals and enemies in this agitated European corner.

4 Romania’s relationships with Germany have seriously developed after 1989, but just in the context of the closer relationships between Paris and Berlin. After 1997, Germany supports Romania for adhering to NATO and, after 1999, it supports Romania’s adherence to the EU, after years of hesitation or indifference. It happened only due to France and it was meant to be more of an answer for the zigzag of the Romanian democracy. This is why, at the beginning of 2005, no matter how solid the relationship with the US would be, jeopardizing the collaborations with Paris and Berlin would be fatal.

5 We also owe a lot to Germany for the last four years. Like it or not, but the intervention of Minister Otto Schilly and the political and personal relations between the German and Romanian social-democrats were the only ones that led to the annulment of the visa obligations for the Schengen territory.

1 billion of the 10 billion foreign investments in Romania in the last 15 years come from Germany . There are 11,000 German companies in Romania (the third direct investor after Holland and France). A quarter of the integration financial grants of the EU are German money. In 1990, the Kohl Government offered Romania electrical current for free in order to avoid the economical collapse. Sibiu and Timisoara are being restored by specialists, expertise and money from Germany.

The reform of Justice, as it is, the one that made possible the negotiations with the EU, is assisted by German advisors.

These are only some examples. We mustn’t forget or minimize them, especially if no one in Washington, London or Moscow ask us to choose: them or Germany!. On the contrary.

President Traian Basescu visits Germany after he went to Moscow, London and Washington. He will visit France in the autumn.

There are also some discussions regarding the irregularities of the great contracts with Germany and France from the end of the Nastase era. The illegality must be repaired and the prejudices recovered or avoided. But we should be careful. We shouldn’t jump too far. The Germans have a word for the attention with which the special issues must be treated: Fingerspitzengefuehl, meaning the sensitivity of the fingertips. It is what I recommend to President Traian Basescu, no matter how natural, direct, winning or self-confident he would be on Sunday night when he is to land at Berlin-Tegel. I believe that the navy loop is undone with the same care.

P.S. In an interview for Europa FM before the departure for the USA, President Basescu said: some journalists have revealed their true faces after I announced my external political intentions, no matter their preferences. There hasn’t been one to prefer Romania.

I didn’t reply right then. I give my answer now: I prefer the Germans, the French and the Anglo-Saxons. This will probably be the reason for me supporting the President as well.