Defeat at the UN shakes Merco's government

Germany's defeat in the race for one of the rotating seats on the United Nations Security Council has prompted serious questioning in Berlin of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's foreign policy ambitions and raised the question of how much Germany under his leadership can truly be a leading European voice on the world stage.

Wednesday's vote, which saw Austria, Portugal, Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago win two-year terms, was a heavy blow to the Mercosur government, which is already facing political difficulties.

In an unpleasant rivalry between the European Union partners, Portugal won 134 votes and Austria 131, while Germany received only 104 - significantly less than the required 127, despite Berlin expressing confidence that it would win just hours earlier.

Both winners were seen as representing the interests of smaller countries, while Austria could benefit from the perception of its neutrality, as it is not a member of NATO, and Portugal highlighted strong ties in Africa and Latin America, writes "The Guardian".

Foreign Minister Johan Vadeful, who lobbied hard for the seat, attributed the “bitter defeat” to Germany’s active role in rallying support for Ukraine and its firm support for Israel.

“We have always taken a clear position on certain issues, and these are positions that are not shared by all member states,” Vadeful told reporters. He added that it was “no secret” that Russia had been stirring up sentiment against Germany, which is now the largest single donor of military aid to Kiev.

"Among the reasons are our strong support for Ukraine and the fact that Russia, as a permanent member, does not want such a voice in the Security Council," he said.

"The fact that Germany always has to take special responsibility for Israel in the Middle East conflict may have also cost us votes," he added, alluding to Germany's support for Israel, which is one of the key pillars of its foreign policy and rests on historical responsibility for the Holocaust.

Wadeful said that Germany would stand by Israel, even if it criticized his government's actions in Gaza, settlement construction in the West Bank and military strikes in Lebanon.

Merck himself, whose popularity plummeted in his first year in power, congratulated the winners of the secret ballot for five seats on the fifteen-member Council and said that Berlin's commitment to the UN would remain unwavering.

Germany, the second largest contributor to the UN, remains a "reliable pillar of multilateralism," he said, "acting decisively and with a sense of responsibility."

Since taking office last May at the head of a right-left coalition government formed more out of necessity than political affinity, Merz has sought to return Europe's largest economic power to a position of strength and make Berlin's voice heard on global issues, supported by a sharp increase in military spending.

While his government at home struggles with demanding economic and budgetary reforms that burden his coalition with the Social Democrats, Merz has gained more respect on the foreign policy front, particularly for rallying Western support for Ukraine.

However, the results at home and abroad have been uneven, which has even fueled speculation in recent days that Merz could be replaced as chancellor by his conservative party colleague Hendrik Wiest, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, if he fails to turn the tide.

Although such a scenario still seems unlikely, critics from almost the entire political spectrum have assessed that Merck and his allies bear the blame for the latest debacle, the Guardian reported.

The opposition Greens called it a "shameful defeat," and their deputy caucus leader Agnieszka Bruger pointed to the failure to "back up the candidacy with contemporary ideas" about leadership in climate protection, a rules-based international order, and development aid.

Alice Weidel, co-chair of the far-right Alternative for Germany, which is now leading in German opinion polls, and a harsh critic of Berlin's support for Kiev, said in a scathing post on X that the defeat confirms the narrative of national decline.

"One disgrace follows another: while at the beginning of his term as chancellor, Merz intended to 'return our country to the international stage,' Germany has now been left without a seat on the UN Security Council," she said.

The Social Democrats joined the criticism, saying that the vote was "not just a passing nuisance, but a warning sign."

Social Democrat foreign policy spokesman Adis Ahmetović said that Berlin is paying the price for perceived hypocrisy, due to its reluctance to criticize allies, including Israel and the US.

"Anyone who claims to be the guardian of a rules-based international order must not apply double standards when it comes to international law," he told Der Spiegel magazine.

Merck initially refrained from assessing Donald Trump's military strikes in Venezuela and Iran and their compliance with international law, before provoking the US president's anger by saying that Tehran was "humiliating" Americans because of their poorly prepared campaign.

The Guardian states that due to Germany's militaristic past and fears of its renewed dominance in Europe, the country used its power in international institutions through "checkbook diplomacy" for much of the post-war period, making its exclusion from the UN particularly painful.

Germany has been a member of the Council six times, most recently in 2019–2020.

Manuel Frelih, a political scientist at the University of Trier, said that the fact that the campaign to win a seat on the Council was conducted with great public attention until the last moment will further burden Merz's attempt at political recovery.

“The government would certainly celebrate this as a success and, in that sense, will undoubtedly have to take responsibility for this defeat,” he told public broadcaster Feniks. “In that sense, it is a significant blow.”