Thomas Fues is head of the training department at the German Development Institute in Bonn.
The Pittsburgh Summit received extraordinary coverage in the German media. This may be partly due to the fact that the event took place just a few days before national elections, thus presenting an ideal photo opportunity for Chancellor Merkel. The other part of the explanation may be due to the widespread acceptance of the G20 as the new format for global policy coordination. The traditionally positive perception of Merkel's international performance is, however, giving way to a more critical assessment of her effectiveness. Similarly, the enhancement of club governance through the integration of emerging powers is a cause of growing concern regarding what this could mean for the excluded rest of the developing world and for the United Nations.
Economic Interests
Germany's economic agenda for Pittsburgh was strongly focused on effective regulation of financial markets, including the strengthening of banks' equity positions, limits to management compensation and action on tax havens. To this effect, Merkel had re-enacted the German-French connection leading up to the summit while her finance minister, in a parallel move, voiced open criticism of British recalcitrance. The chancellor was also keen on deflecting blame for global imbalances by embedding the structural surplus of her country's current account into the more or less even balance-of-payments position of the European Union (Spiegel). An innovative element of the German agenda, as seen by some commentators, was the support of a global tax on all cross-border financial transactions (Tobin tax), which represented a clear policy reversal on a controversial proposal of scholars and non-governmental organizations (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
Uniformly, German media lamented the fact that, despite Merkel's insistence, climate change did not make it onto the Pittsburgh agenda. While the chancellor is generally credited by the national media to have skillfully represented the country's economic interests (Zeit; Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung), criticism is building up that she may have focused on the wrong priorities. According to other commentators (Zeit; Spiegel) she has been too focused on symptoms of the financial crisis, such as management compensation, in order to play on the emotions of the electorate. According to this view, she should have rather addressed structural issues such as banking supervision, an international register of credits and global imbalances (Financial Times Deutschland).
Political Interests
Public assessments of Merkel's role in the Pittsburgh Summit tend to underline her positive image as an assertive negotiator driven by the search for practical solutions (Handelsblatt). However, her call for a “Charter for sustainable economic activity” is seen, by some, as one-sided in concentrating on public debt while neglecting the private sector (Spiegel). Also, her credibility is put into question by suggesting that Germany could have acted more forcefully at home on limiting the excesses of unfettered financial markets (Zeit). German media also commented positively on the harmonious collaboration between Merkel and her finance minister, Peer Steinbrueck, from the competing social democrats in the heat of the election campaign. The results of national elections just two days after the summit have brought this successful tandem to an end.
International Interests
German media have generally perceived the Pittsburgh Summit as an affirmation of the key role played by the country in global affairs. The decisions on financial markets are generally interpreted as a success of Merkel's negotiating strategy (Welt). Since nobody expected immediate results on the German proposal for a Tobin tax, some commentators emphasize the long-term benefit of taking the lead on this issue and expect a later convergence of positions (tageszeitung). NGOs also note the possibility of raising funds for development purposes through this instrument (Sueddeutsche Zeitung). With regard to climate change, domestic media are disturbed by the fact that Germany and Europe's clout did not suffice in having the issue included in the summit agenda (Frankfurter Rundschau). There are also some persisting doubts with regard to the adequate form of European representation in global bodies as the influence of individual nations from the continent wanes (Spiegel).
Global Leadership
Building on the dramatic turnabout of official and public opinion in support of the G20 at the L'Aquila Summit, nobody in the German media now challenges the permanent replacement of the G8 with a new summit architecture. The G20 is basically trusted as an effective organ of global economic governance, which has prevented the world economy from slipping into major disintegration and catastrophic trade wars. However, recognition of the benefits associated with such club governance goes hand in hand with a growing uneasiness about the inherent limits of informal, selective arrangements. For one, influential voices caution against the possible sidelining of the United Nations (Zeit; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Others articulate the concern that the interests of the developing world, particularly low-income countries and Africa, will be further marginalized as traditional and emerging powers close ranks and find new modes of accommodation in exclusive circles.
There is also a widespread feeling that governments in the G20 may shy away from difficult decisions such as addressing global imbalances, protectionism, supervision of financial institutions and rating agencies as well as protection of global ecosystems. Some NGO commentators even go as far as questioning the future of liberal capitalism altogether since it is claimed that the system cannot deliver social equity, prosperity and stability in times of deepening global crises. This seems to indicate that, in the eyes of some part of the German public at least, the G20 may soon become the target of fundamental societal opposition which has traditionally been directed towards the G8.