US embassy cable - 05FRANKFURT8181

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 008181 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, PINR, GM 
SUBJECT: Scenesetter/Visit of Baden-Wuerttemberg M-P Oettinger 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  On November 14-15, Baden-Wuerttemberg Minister- 
President Guenther Oettinger (CDU/Christian Democrats) will make 
his first official visit to Washington.  A political moderate, 
Oettinger leads one of Germany's largest and economically most 
successful states.  Oettinger is favored to win re-election in 
March 2006.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Baden-Wuerttemberg:  An Economic Powerhouse 
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2. (U) Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany's third-largest state) has the 
world's 17th largest economy with a larger GDP (EUR 307 
billion/2002) than most European Union members including Belgium, 
Sweden, and Austria.  The state's per-capita GDP (EUR 28,900) is 
surpassed in the EU only by Luxembourg, Denmark, and Ireland. 
Home to DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, and Bosch (the world's largest 
automotive supplier), the state is one of the world's leading 
centers for automotive technology and production.  The state also 
claims to be Europe's leading region for high technology (its 
four counties Stuttgart, Tuebingen, Karlsuhe, and Freiburg rank 
first, third, fourth and seventh respectively among Europe's high- 
tech production and development sites according to Eurostat). 
 
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Focus on Strengthening Ties to the U.S. 
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3. (SBU) In a recent meeting with the Consul General, Oettinger 
reiterated his commitment to improving German-American relations 
and criticized the foreign policy of the outgoing Schroeder 
government.  Oettinger said that for 60 years, the transatlantic 
partnership and European integration were twin pillars of German 
foreign policy; under Schroeder, the GOG had allowed its 
relationship with the U.S. to deteriorate and had undermined 
European unity by over-emphasizing relations with France and 
Russia.  Oettinger expressed hope that a CDU-led government would 
improve relations with all of Germany's neighbors and renew the 
transatlantic friendship. 
 
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Political Background 
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4. (SBU) Like neighboring Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg has had 
conservative governments for decades.  In April 2005, Oettinger 
became Minister-President (analogous to a U.S. governor, but with 
influence on the federal level as well).  Oettinger has good ties 
to Chancellor-designate Angela Merkel and political insiders 
expect Oettinger to be active on the national level.  Privately, 
Oettinger has expressed concern that a grand coalition government 
will be unstable since a weakened SPD could still change tack and 
threaten to form a "red/red/green" coalition with the Greens and 
the far-left. 
 
5. (U) Voters in Baden-Wuerttemberg will go to the polls on March 
26, 2006.  Observers favor Oettinger's CDU/Free Democrat (FDP) 
coalition government for re-election.  Seen as a middle-of-the- 
road, modernizing voice within the party, Oettinger aims to make 
inroads into urban constituents who now vote for Green or SPD 
candidates.  Oettinger is a tactician rather than an ideologue; 
as early as 1992, he suggested that the CDU could go into 
coalition with the Greens. 
 
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Visit to the U.S. 
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6. (U) Oettinger seeks to strengthen the state's economic and 
cultural ties to the United States.  Oettinger -- who was quick 
to offer aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- is avidly pro- 
American (as a young conservative, he toured the U.S. as part of 
an International Visitor program for promising German leaders). 
From November 13-18, he will travel with a 70-member delegation 
to Washington, New York, and Detroit.  The trip will highlight 
the state's large investments in the United States; Oettinger 
recently noted that automotive suppliers including Bosch, ZF 
(Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, a transmission producer), and 
Behr (air conditioners) are planning to double their production 
in the U.S.  The auto industry is a focal point for the trip 
(NOTE: Oettinger is a close confidante of incoming 
DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche -- END NOTE). 
 
7. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Berlin. 
 
PASI