US refuses Schröder a meeting with Bush (HOLD MEIN BIER...YET AGAIN)

The Daily Telegraph ^ | November 18, 2002 | Kate Connolly

[MadIvan]

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was dealt a humiliating blow yesterday when the White House was reported to have turned down his request to meet President George W Bush at this week's Nato summit in Prague.

ROFL! Bravo, Mr. President, Bravo! - Ivan

The decision appears to undermine German claims that Berlin had repaired relations with Washington after Peter Struck, the German defence minister, met Donald Rumsfeld, his American counterpart, last weekend.

The diplomatic foray had appeared to have papered over a falling-out over Mr Schröder's lack of support for US plans for action against Iraq and comments by one of his ministers who compared Mr Bush to Hitler.

The President's national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, confirmed at the weekend that he had rejected the offer of a meeting with Mr Schröder, according to the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

Mr Schröder's pre-election promise that Germany would not support a war in Iraq was one of the key planks of his campaign and helped him win a second term. But at the Nato summit the chancellor had been expected to offer the US unlimited access to US military bases in Germany and to German airspace in the event of a war.

The snub came as Mr Schröder faced a barrage of criticism at home for failing to steady an ailing economy. Opinion polls show support for his Social Democrats (SPD), leaders of the coalition government, to have slumped more drastically after an election than any other government in post-war history.

The SPD polled 26 per cent of the poll, a 10 per cent drop on last month. The CDU-CSU conservative alliance was up 10 per cent to 55 per cent.

Public consternation is increasing over plans to raise taxes and social welfare contributions despite pre-election promises not to do so.

"The clumsiness of this government is horrifying," said Peter Lösche, professor of political science at the University of Göttingen. "There's no concept, no plan, no direction; they're hectically patching problems."

[MadIvan]

They're not patching problems, they're making them worse. Unbelievable - a decade ago, Germany was so smug and confident - now they've self-destructed.

Well have at poor Gerhard with captioning this picture:

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[nicmarlo]

The diplomatic foray had appeared to have papered over a falling-out over Mr Schröder's lack of support for US plans for action against Iraq and comments by one of his ministers who compared Mr Bush to Hitler.

Guess he shouldn't have done that? (Also, Schröder should not have run his campaign to win by putting down Bush, either?)

[AmericaUnited]

Hmmm... maybe they should hire the US Democratic party as consultants. Or maybe they did...

[Republic of Texas]

This President, unlike his predecessor, has more respect for himself and his country than to put up with that kind of European stupidity. Lesson is: do not bite the hand that feeds you.

[struwwelpeter]

Herr Bush ist schlau
Aber stellt sich dumm
Herr Schroeder macht es
Anders um

[THX 1138]

Opinion polls show support for his Social Democrats (SPD), leaders of the coalition government, to have slumped more drastically after an election than any other government in post-war history. The SPD polled 26 per cent of the poll, a 10 per cent drop on last month. The CDU-CSU conservative alliance was up 10 per cent to 55 per cent.

Well then, the German people must be blithering nitwits to allow themselves to be led around by the nose like this.

[Dog Gone]

But at the Nato summit the chancellor had been expected to offer the US unlimited access to US military bases in Germany and to German airspace in the event of a war.

Those German bases would be extremely helpful if we were fighting a war in Europe.

But we built a new one in Qatar, Gerhardt. Funny, but the arabs seem to be better friends than you.

[MadIvan]

Aber Herr Schroeder ist dumm und stellt sich dumm auch.

Regards, Ivan

[DeFault User]

Gerhard: "If it weren't for Al Gore, I might be the world's dumbest political has been."

[jackbill]

Who is Gerhard Schröder? Was he SS? Wehrmacht? Hitler Jugen? Help me here, I'm getting a bit fuzzy in my old age.

[petuniasevan]

Schröder: I wish they'd pan the camera away so I can pick my nose.

[Righty1]

Schroeder is just like our anti-war lobby i.e. not a grown up! Personally, I was so happy this summer when I found out that I was Prussian nicht deutsch.

[jwfiv]

"Vas iss los?" he apppears to be saying.

He looks like an ignorant bastard to me...makes Colonel Klink look like General Patton.

I agree, Ivan...Bravo. Dubya, bravo.

[Godfollow]

Me'thinks they did...

[NeoCaveman]

My grandad was 100% German, I hate Schroder as much as I hate the French.

[CyberAnt]

Either that, or all the "blithering nitwits" that voted for x42 moved to Germany! LOL

[Pushi]

I'll bet the rest of the Eurotrash will think twice about pulling this kind of crap.

[hellinahandcart]

Lesson is: do not bite the hand that feeds you.

Or, 'dog that bites, doesn't get petted'...

[BobS]

Bush doesn't put up with crap. He really screwed the dems
when they didn't know when to say 'yes'.