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U.S. cool to Schroeder's victoryGerman leader had criticized U.S. policy on Iraq
From John King (CNN Washington Bureau)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Bush administration reacted coolly Monday to the re-election of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder after a campaign in which Schroeder staged a major comeback by pointedly and repeatedly criticizing the tough U.S. posture toward Iraq. "The voters of Germany have spoken," said National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack. "The United States will work with the German government on issues of common interest." The short statement neither congratulated Schroeder nor mentioned him by name -- a marked contrast to a statement congratulating French President Jacques Chirac on his May re-election victory. Schroeder's comeback was driven by sharp criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq policy and statements that Germany would take no part in such an "adventure." (Full story) "Chancellor Schroeder and his party have a lot of work to do to improve relations with the United States ... to repair the damage done of the excesses of Schroeder's campaign," a senior administration official said.
A State Department official said that a similar cold statement on the German election from State Department spokesman Richard Boucher was deliberately "instructed by the White House" as an expression of U.S. displeasure with Schroeder's seemingly anti-American campaign In Germany, Schroeder said he hoped to speak to Bush on the telephone soon, but White House officials said there were no plans for such a call. Two U.S. administration officials said there were staff conversations at that time because the Germans wanted to arrange a Bush-Schroeder call, but that the White House had declined to do so. One senior State Department official said that while the United States has "been through a lot" with Germany and the two countries have a "strong alliance," there are still "issues that need to be resolved." He said a phone call made by German Foreign Minister Joscha Fischer to Secretary of State Colin Powell Monday morning was an attempt "to start to address" those issues causing fissures in the U.S.-German relationship. U.S. officials say Bush is well aware of the dynamics of political campaigns, but believes that Schroeder, in the words of one top Bush adviser, "went over the line and seemed to be enjoying it." Schroeder sent a letter of apology to Bush last week after the German justice minister was quoted as drawing a comparison between Bush and Adolf Hitler. The minister, Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, denied making the comments, but Schroeder announced Monday that she would resign. In Germany, Schroeder said Monday that the rift caused by remarks attributed to Daeubler-Gmelin, along with his own opposition to a U.S.-Iraq war, would not cause permanent damage. "An objective difference of opinion can well exist between friends, but it must not be made a personal matter," he said. "And certainly not with regard to close friends and allies." -- State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel and Producer Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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