Scholz visits Biden, but the Chancellor's machine remains almost empty

Chancellor Scholz flew to Washington to see US President Biden.

Opposition leader Merz demands clarification about the mysterious journey.

WASHINGTON, DC – There is something mysterious about Chancellor Olaf Scholz's trip to Washington.

The brand-new government plane "Konrad Adenauer" is pretty empty when it takes off from Berlin in the early evening of Thursday (March 2) for the US capital.

As usual, Scholz has his closest employees from the Chancellery with him and, of course, his security forces.

Journalists, usually around 25, are not allowed to come this time - very unusual for such an important travel destination.

There is also no business delegation.

The Chancellor wants to travel largely alone.

At the airport in Washington, Scholz was received by the chief of protocol, the US diplomat Rufus Gifford.

This is called a silent arrival. Nothing official is planned for the evening.

In general, Scholz only has one official appointment on this trip: a private conversation with US President Joe Biden on Friday in the White House – without the usual press conference that follows.

There will only be pictures of the two from the beginning of the conversation in the Oval Office, the President's study.

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Biden (left) in conversation with Scholz on the occasion of the G7 summit in Germany in June 2022.

© Tobias Schwarz/afp

It is a very confidential visit, the results of which will probably not be known much afterwards.

Main topic: The Ukraine War.

Actually, the conversation could have taken place last week when Biden visited Ukraine and Poland.

However, the US President only made a short stopover at the Ramstein Air Force Base in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Scholz has to wait for Biden's first visit to Berlin since he was sworn in a good two years ago.

Scholz and Biden: Brothers in spirit

Conversely, the chancellor is now in Washington for the second time in the 15 months since he took office.

"It is an expression of the quality of transatlantic relations and also of the good cooperation between the American President and the German Chancellor that we exchange ideas and talk very often," he said before departure.

For Scholz, it's not just a visit to his most powerful ally, but also to a political friend whom he sees as a brother in spirit.

When Scholz talks about Biden, he almost goes into raptures.

There is no one on the international stage whose political style suits him as well as the 80-year-old US President: unspectacular, but also calm, level-headed and result-oriented.

Joe Biden: The life and career of the 46th US President in pictures

Joe Biden: The life and career of the 46th US President in pictures

In dealing with Russia's war against Ukraine, Biden has become something of a leading figure for Scholz.

When the chancellor says that he doesn't want to go it alone in supplying arms, what he means above all is: Not without the United States.

This was the case with the delivery of multiple rocket launchers, with the Patriot air defense systems and with the armored personnel carriers.

With the main battle tanks, however, things did not go quite so smoothly and amicably.

Disagreements between Biden and Scholz over tank deliveries to Ukraine

At the end of January, Scholz and Biden announced almost synchronously that Germany would deliver Leopard 2 and the USA their Abrams to Ukraine.

The US President thanked the Chancellor for his "strong leadership" and "unwavering commitment" to Ukraine.

But even then there were reports that Scholz had made the delivery of the Abrams a condition of his Leopard commitment - the Chancellery denied.

Biden, whose Defense Department had previously deemed Abrams' deployment in Ukraine impractical, said he was not "forced" to agree.

But shortly before the Chancellor's visit to the White House, Biden's security advisor Jake Sullivan spoke up in a TV interview with the surprising statement that such an agreement had actually taken place.

In the interests of "alliance unity" and "to ensure Ukraine gets what it wants," Biden agreed to the long-term supply of Abrams tanks -- although they are not what Ukraine needs militarily at the moment.

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A Year of the Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia

The timing of Sullivan's testimony and the chosen format give the impression that the US government wanted to send a message to the addressee Scholz.

It's also quite possible that they want to lower expectations for Abrams tanks, both in terms of timely delivery and their performance on the battlefield.

Friedrich Merz: "What is the point of this trip?"

There is another issue that currently harbors the potential for conflict between the USA and Germany.

Biden launched a multi-billion dollar US investment program last summer.

It provides for investments in climate protection, but ties many subsidies and tax credits to companies using US products or producing them themselves in the USA.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a major domestic achievement for Biden.

In Berlin and Europe, however, Biden's "Made in America" ​​approach is not well received.

The concern about competitive disadvantages is great.

In a government statement at the beginning of February, Scholz called for the USA to make concessions and warned of a subsidy race.

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and his French colleague Bruno Le Maire campaigned in Washington at about the same time for a Europe-friendly application of the law, but returned without any concrete commitments.

Germany's transformation is one of the great good-news stories of our times.

pic.twitter.com/jkvHGw1iNf

— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) October 9, 2022

The opposition in Berlin is also concerned about the outcome of the Chancellor's visit to the USA.

"What is the meaning and purpose of this renewed trip," asked the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz on Thursday in the Bundestag.

"You are not prepared with what you have told us here today, nor are you taking journalists with you, nor have you prepared a final communiqué there."

Scholz' trip: No press conference, but a CNN interview

At the start of the talks in the Oval Office, you will probably only hear a few warm words from both heads of government.

Like a year ago when Scholz first visited Biden, just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At the time, Scholz was accused in the United States of holding onto the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, even though Russian troops had already deployed on the border with Ukraine.

Biden nevertheless backed the chancellor: "Germany is one of America's closest allies," he said at the start of the conversation.

At that time there was then the usual joint press conference and on top of that a television interview by the Chancellor on the US broadcaster CNN.

The latter is also available this time, with journalist Fareed Zakaria.

However, Scholz is likely to keep secrets from the conversation with Biden to himself.

List of rubrics: © Tobias Schwarz/afp