Details

Titel

Charlemagne: Rudolf Scharping, measured German warrior

Ist Teil von

• The Economist (London), 1999-04, Vol.351 (8113), p.46

Ort / Verlag

London: The Economist Intelligence Unit N.A., Incorporated

Erscheinungsjahr

1999

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Rudolf Scharpring needs good luck now more than ever. After only 5 months on the job, and in a shaky coalition of Social Democrats and semi-pacifist Greens, he has uncomfortably emerged as the first defense minister since 1945 to send German forces abroad to fight. So far, polls show that most Germans, despite some collywobbles, back their country's participation in the NATO air strikes against the Serbs. Even if NATO achieves its aim in Kosovo, there are other challenges for the Bundeswehr: restructuring, a cash crunch, the future of conscription, which Scharpring backs but may be unable to save. He also wants to press ahead with the creation of a European Union defense arm.