I hope you enjoyed my little adventure with April Fool's Day. I had a very good time writing the latest remake of Red Riding Hood.
The question for today is the G20 Summit - what's it all about and who participates? The G20, or Group of 20, is made up of the 20 countries with the highest GDP. GDP is the total goods and services that a country makes, uses and exports allowing it to make money. Basically, this is the economy of a country. This group of 20 countries represents 90% of the world's economy, 80% of world trade, and 66.6% of the world's population. Countries with representatives or leaders attending are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, S. Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the USA. Additional groups can be invited, which for this summit are the EU Council and EU Commission presidents, the chair for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the chair for the Association of South East Asian Nations, as well as the heads to the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, the Financial Stability Forum. The decisions made at this meeting about finance and the environment, symbolically, can have a huge impact on the citizens of the world, but often in theory versus in practice are two separate items.
This summit, being held in London, England, is a bit more flashy than usual. You have the usual pomp and circumstance that goes on when the Queen of England is either nearby or directly involved (as she was yesterday), the superstar status of our new president in the world these days, the hopes and anticipations of all the citizens of the world who are feeling this economic downturn, the public temper tantrums that the French president promises to deliver, the spotlight on American-Chinese relations with the recent and uncomfortable arm flexing they have been doing, and finally the remnants of cold-war Russia with the separate meetings planned with president, Medvedev, interplaying with our new administration (here, the complication is with the assumed puppet master of Russian relations, Putin, who is not in attendance.) All of this takes place amid the backdrop of amiable and violent protesters on everything from sea level rises to the death of the economy, as some put it. Many were also letting their anger boil over at the banking industry, which unfortunately resulted in significant violence in the downtown banking area.
I have been trying to see if American news is covering this as heavily as the local and international news here and what the feel of that news has been. In general, I think it is being monitored, but not nearly as closely as over here. I haven't quite figured out why that is, though, over something that could be so important. These meetings are trying to hammer out a way to go forward in the world economy, of which America is very much a part of, with all parties trying to help the situation instead of fighting among the nations, further exacerbating the length and level of the current recession. In some ways, though, I do see it as a bit of America versus the world. Many people here in Europe are afraid that America is trying to help only itself - give jobs and monetary help only to itself, pulling back from overseas purchasing and employment. America is really in a hard spot. We need to help our citizens, but because we are the world's largest economy, and so much of the world is globally tied to us, it really is a case of what we do affects the entire world. But like in a school yard, the pushing and shoving that goes on as one new kid tries to emerge as the new top dog (China) also affects everyone's ability to decide whose side they should be on. I will say, regardless of who you think should have been the American president, it is very obvious outside of the US that it helps us tremendously on the world stage to have Obama in office. People, in general, are much more willing to work with the US, give the US the shadow of the doubt, and are significantly less suspicious of our policies than before Obama was in office.
The issues of this summit are listed as taking all necessary actions to stabilize the world markets, strengthening the global financial institutions, and making it possible for global sustainable growth. Other issues, which are not quite as reported upon include nuclear proliferation, cyber threats, climate change, energy security, terrorism, and Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. As I am writing, they have come to an agreement on the major issues and are making statements based on the results. It's important to note, though, that the actual pudding in the middle will be determined in the weeks and months ahead to see if the resolutions will be followed or if the decisions will be put on the back burner to protect individual country's citizens. It is a big fear.
So what part does Germany play in this? Germany's stand till now is to put forth some stimulus (which it has already done), then sit back and wait to see what happens. Germany feels, to some extent, that the amount of stimulus being suggested by the US is a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. This also fits very well with what we have learned of the German culture - don't do things too aggressively, be cautious, and wait to see how things work out. It's a minor sticking point between US and German relations and will be interesting to see how it shakes out and how other countries also decide to approach the situation.
Once the summit is over, Obama will be touring parts of Europe. In particular, he will be visiting Germany, not terribly far from here. He is making a strategic visit to Strasbourg, France, followed with his visit to Kehl, a city directly across the Rhine River from Strasbourg. Why Kehl and not some flashier, or even bigger, city? Well, this is the site for a NATO meeting, plus it allows him to address both people in France and Germany in a single day. From there, he will travel on to Prague, Czech Republic, which is embroiled right now in its own internal political problems with the resignation of its prime minister as of Thursday, and then on to Turkey, who is desperately vying for a position within the EU. I wish him the best of luck and a safe return to the US next week.
The word for today is summit: das Gipfel (gheep fehl).
The question for today is "Did Germany have a wee friend to the north, and what were some of their connections?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
