Exactly a month before Germany's general elections, which are far from being decided, Angela Merkel will be hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin. We should not underestimate this diplomatic gesture by Merkel, who these days is fighting for another term in office.
The immense popularity enjoyed by the chancellor is far from reflecting the level of public support for her conservative party. It is also doubtful whether her natural coalition partners, the liberals, will be able to grant her the required majority needed to disengage from her social-democratic rivals, who shared power with her in the current term.
The last two election campaigns in Germany showed that the voters can surprise observers -- negatively so in respect to the conservatives -- at the polls. For that reason, Merkel has been engaged in a cautious and calculated struggle for each vote.
Her willingness to host Netanyahu under such circumstances constitutes yet another testament to her deep commitment to Israel. Netanyahu and his government are not a way to score points politically neither in Germany nor in Europe as a whole. Most Germans and Europeans like to hate Netanyahu, his government, and Likud. This is not a result of their policies or actions. Rather, it's an automatic, traditional and instinctive hostility that rejects the Israeli Right without even trying to understand its positions. European media outlets play a crucial role in this incitement campaign.
This creates a situation whereby the Netanyahu government has become anathema in the eyes of many Europeans even before it started to work. The gestures it adopted towards the Palestinians since then have not resonated at all. While the Israeli Left enjoyed overwhelming European support in all the wars it conducted, the arguments of Israel's Right in favor of a fair, reasonable and just peace are rejected out of hand in Europe.
The situation in Germany is no different, and Merkel therefore deserves praise for the courage she has displayed in inviting Netanyahu precisely at this time. Merkel's critics accuse her of adopting opportunistic policies. However, her support for Israel, which was decisively expressed during her term in office, attests to consistency and deeply entrenched values.
As Netanyahu prepares for his first visit in Berlin as a prime minister, Merkel wants to hear that he has something to say in respect to advancing the peace process. In Berlin too, many have been captivated by the Obama administration's simplistic equation, whereby such progress mostly hinges on the future of the settlements. Netanyahu will have to find a way to woo Merkel, as his predecessor Olmert was able to do.
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