US embassy cable - 03FRANKFURT5668

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 005668 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREL, ECON, ELAB, GM 
SUBJECT: SAARLAND'S POPULAR MINISTER-PRESIDENT PETER 
MUELLER: A CENTER-LEFT "REBEL" 
 
REFTEL: 2002 FRANKFURT 11411 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: Saarland Minister-President Peter Mueller 
represents the center-left membership of the Christian 
Democratic Union (CDU).  Known for his unorthodox, 
provocative political style, he one of the most outspoken 
CDU Minister-Presidents.  He faces state elections in summer 
2004 and currently has the lead in opinion polls.  Mueller 
plans to visit the U.S. in September 2003 and seeks to 
expand U.S. investment in Saarland.  End summary. 
 
Unorthodox Conservative 
----------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Saarland Minister-President Peter Mueller broke the 
15-year reign of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 
Saarland in 1999 by winning an absolute majority for the 
CDU.  He was re-elected Saarland CDU state chairman in May 
2003 with 99.5 percent of the vote and has become the most 
popular Saarland politician since Oskar Lafontaine (the 
former Minister-President and SPD national chairman who left 
office in 1999).  Mueller is outspoken and likes putting 
forth unconventional ideas.  Though he represents a small 
state (population one million), he is one of the most vocal 
of the CDU Minister-Presidents.  He has several nicknames 
including "black Peter" (a reference to a card game that 
indicates "the one who gets all the blame.")  This stems 
from 1998, when Mueller was the first to call for Chancellor 
Kohl's resignation and was accused of being disloyal, though 
many in the party privately shared the same viewpoint. 
 
3. (SBU) One of Mueller's closest aides, Joachim 
Kiefaber, is the head of the Foreign Trade Division in 
the Ministry of Economics and a former Free Democratic 
Party (FDP) caucus member of the Saarland parliament, a 
holdover from the former CDU-FDP coalition.  He 
describes Mueller as religious and socially minded, 
noting Mueller's Social Democratic family and 
upbringing, often reflected in his left-of-center CDU 
policies.  On economic policy, Mueller is a vigorous 
advocate of new technologies and has pushed strongly for 
structural change in the steel and coal industry in 
Saarland.  Another area which interests Mueller is 
social reform and the Herzog Kommission, the CDU 
counterpart to the Ruerup commission.  Mueller tends to 
be a mediator.  This is reflected in his cabinet, with 
its healthy mix of conservatives and centrists.  His 
bridge-building skills are reflected in the opinion 
polls: 70 percent of Saarland's voters respect Mueller 
as a leader. 
 
4. (SBU) Mueller was a judge with an outstanding 
reputation before entering politics.  On legal issues, 
Mueller is considered one of Germany's brightest minds. 
Mueller does not back away from criticizing his own 
party.  In 1991 for example, he publicly demanded that 
Chancellor Kohl step down because of a broken promise on 
taxes.  In 2002, Mueller admitted that the CDU's outrage 
in the Bundesrat after the immigration bill vote that 
approved the law (but which was ultimately overturned by 
the Federal Constitutional Court) was staged.  The press 
speculated as to why he "unmasked" his CDU colleagues, 
particularly Hesse Minister-President Roland Koch.  His 
staff told us that Mueller's decision reflected both his 
satiric humor and general frustration with political 
gamesmanship on the immigration issue, which he feels 
strongly about.  Mueller's own views on immigration 
reform are, in fact, not far distant from many of the 
points in the government's proposals. 
 
5. (SBU) Mueller's unorthodox style is reflected in his 
dislike of hierarchy.  He is often seen in the corridors of 
the Chancellery visiting his staff, in contrast to his two 
more formal predecessors.  Many on Mueller's team come from 
the CDU's youth wing.  He was the first Minister-President 
to introduce paperless cabinet meetings.  Everyone in his 
cabinet must take computer training and carries a laptop. 
In decision making, Mueller likes the motto, "exactness 
before quickness."  Despite this, contacts say that he tends 
to change his opinion suddenly. 
 
6. (SBU) Mueller became a national figure when he assumed 
chairmanship of the CDU immigration commission in 2000.  He 
had a personal and legal interest in the subject, not least 
due to the fact that Saarland shares borders with France and 
Luxembourg.  He essentially agreed with Interior Minister 
Otto Schily on a draft immigration bill.  Mueller blames the 
Green Party for blocking a compromise, but FDP contacts 
close to Mueller say that he was under enormous pressure by 
the CDU presidium and finally caved in.  Mueller's aide 
Kiefaber said, "With his backing down on the immigration 
issue, Mueller made one change of direction too many. 
Another will cause him lost credibility and thus diminish 
his influence in the national CDU."  Mueller's close 
relationship with CDU Chairperson Angela Merkel was also 
seriously damaged by his backing of Stoiber.  Mueller said 
that he had had a one-on-one meeting with Merkel beforehand 
to explain his reasoning, but Merkel leaked it to the press, 
making him appear disloyal.  Since then, the relationship 
has been cool. 
 
Pro-American, Friend of France, Seeks to Expand U.S. 
Investment in Saarland 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
7. (SBU) Mueller has a strong interest in foreign policy. 
This year he became representative in the Bundesrat for 
German-French cultural affairs, an important political 
position based on the Elysee Treaty.  A good relationship 
with France is the cornerstone of Mueller's foreign policy. 
Mueller also seeks closer contact with neighbors Luxembourg 
and Belgium.  Mueller is generally pro-American, but on the 
Iraq issue he sympathized with the French position and 
criticized the U.S. for allegedly disregarding international 
law.  Mueller hopes to expand Saarland-U.S. relations and 
U.S. investment in Saarland and will visit the U.S. 
(Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania) in September 2003. 
 
Facing State Elections in Summer 2004 
------------------------------------- 
 
8. (SBU) Mueller faces his first test at the polling booth 
as Minister-President in summer 2004.  Despite a clear lead 
in the opinion polls (the CDU has between 48 and 50 percent) 
the SPD has a realistic chance to win back Saarland for the 
SPD, especially if the Green Party makes it over the five 
percent threshold into state parliament.  If the SPD gains 
in strength sufficiently to win back the reins of power, the 
composition of the Bundesrat, Germany's second house of 
parliament would change (although not significantly enough 
to overturn the current CDU/CSU-FDP majority).  Mueller and 
his staff do not believe that Oskar Lafontaine will run for 
office in Saarland again.  Mueller's assistant Rabel said: 
"Election campaigning is hard work.  Lafontaine is not up 
for it."  Mueller will campaign with the themes of 
Saarland's success: high growth, low unemployment, effective 
restructuring of the steel industry.  The opposition will 
point to Saarland's large deficit and the fact that much of 
the reduction in unemployment can be attributed to 
demographic factors. 
 
Other Biographic Information 
---------------------------- 
 
9. (U) Born l955 in Illingen, Saarland, Peter Mueller 
studied law and political science and was appointed 
judge at the Saarbruecken State Court in 1986.  In l990, 
he was elected into the Saarbruecken State Parliament 
(Landtag) and served as the CDU caucus' parliamentary 
manager until l994.  Mueller went to the U.S. on an 
International Visitor Program in 1992.  He became 
Saarland CDU party chairman in the summer of l995, 
succeeding former National Minister Klaus Toepfer, his 
mentor.  In September 1999, he was elected Minister- 
President, winning unexpectedly by a small margin.  (Due 
to the absence of smaller parties in the Landtag the CDU 
achieved an absolute majority.)  Mueller ended 15 years 
of SPD rule in Saarland, succeeding Minister-President 
Reinhard Klimmt (SPD).  Mueller spoke out early in favor 
of a new immigration law.  In 2000, he took over the 
chairmanship of the CDU immigration commission, a 
position of national prominence. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
10. (SBU) Popular Minister-President Mueller seems 
omnipresent in the small state of Saarland: his role as 
"state father" suits him.  Though an academic and a judge, 
he maintains contact with the man in the street.  Mueller 
seeks to make his party "the CSU of Saarland" reaching far 
into the centrist electorate.  The Saarland CDU is indeed 
much more like the CSU in Bavaria, with no natural 
connections to the liberal FDP and a good relationship with 
the trade unions.  If Mueller strengthens the CDU in 
Saarland in the 2004 elections, his position in the national 
CDU will also grow.  Mueller will continue to play an 
important role in CDU and is one of few visibly representing 
its center-left membership.  End comment. 
 
BODDE