Looking back at a year of damage control

Berlin Again to the eastern flank of NATO, again to an unsettled ally. At the end of the first year of his second term in office, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has just visited Estonia. The trip was exemplary for his past twelve months. It’s been 12 months of damage control, 12 months of confidence building.

His second term in office – he had probably imagined it a little differently. It is worth looking back to May 28, 2021. At that time, Steinmeier announced his application for another five years at Bellevue Palace.

He wanted to accompany Germany on the way to a future after the corona pandemic, that’s how he justified his request at the time. “The pandemic has left deep wounds,” he said. “We have rubbed ourselves raw fighting about the right path. I want to help heal those wounds.”