Tour II

Finally....they waited, and waited, and waited.  But Germans will finally get an official visit by President Obama, after four and a half years.

On 18 and 19 June....the President will land and meet up with the Chancellor in Berlin.  A speech at the Brandenburg Gate?  Who knows?  That hasn't been determined yet.  As candidate Obama back in 2008....he gathered up 200,000 Germans for his big speech in Berlin.

Helping the SPD march to the fall elections?  Well....it's best not to suggest that in public.  The SPD needs all the help they can get at this point.

It'll be hard for the President to pick any subject that really amounts to help for the SPD.  The CDU folks have the best economy running in twenty years.  The Germans aren't at war.  The jobs situation is so good....that even foreigners come to Germany for work.  German health care is at least working.  And Merkel has even held off the fracking crowd.  So there's not much to say or do....to help the SPD folks.

As for the crowd?  Well....if it were a great clear day, with mild temperatures....maybe 250,000 people to show up.  A possible rainy and chilly day?  Maybe 100,000.

Now, I will admit....this is Tuesday and Wednesday....not the weekend.  And Germans don't typically gather in massive crowds on normal work-days, unless it's a strike.

A positive or negative?  No, it's a visit,, and that's basically it.  In fact, it is quiet possible that this is the last visit that the President might make before 2017 when he leaves office.

The German attraction to the President?  Basically, anyone after President Bush....would have garnered five-star support.  That's really the truth.  It could have been worst candidate of the 2008 primary season, and Germans would have stuck onto him or her like glue.

The influence of President Obama on German politics?  You have the one country in Europe who has written a pretty good script for running an economy.  You have people employed and working.  You have business operations at least in running mode....if not expanding.  If you had to pick a time since the 1950s where the majority of Germans are happy....this is it. So it's hard for the President to say anything....to make the situation even better.