A diplomat not immune to change
Germany’s ambassador to South Africa, Martin Schäfer, presented his credentials to President Jacob Zuma two weeks ago. He returns to Pretoria in a time of flux in the country and uncertainty in global relations. The former spokesman for the German foreign
● Three times a week, the spokespersons of all ministries in the German federal government file into a big media briefing room in central Berlin to answer questions about their work.
These are exhaustive press conferences, hosted and controlled by the media, not the government.
Before he was appointed German ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, Martin Schäfer served for four years as spokesman for the German foreign office, and was one of the people filing into the Bundespressekonferenz to face the press.
Anyone who has to face a barrage of questions from the media three times a week, in the presence of their peers, needs to be well informed, understand the German government intimately and be quick on the draw.
As the person who had to articulate the German government’s messaging on complex issues such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Europe migrant crisis, the Brexit vote and the surge of nationalism in the Western world, Schäfer is not only adept at juggling diplomacy and media relations, he understands the power of the news.
High-octane politics
In that way, he is not in the mould of the standard diplomat, who would rather steer clear of high-octane politics.
So he has come to the right place — at the right time.
Schäfer seems to particularly appreciate the soundtrack to South African politics. The singing and dancing in election campaigns and protests are quite a variation on the staid nature of German politics.
He served as spokesman in the German embassy in Pretoria from 2007 to 2011 and was present at the ANC’s boisterous 2007 Polokwane conference at which President Jacob Zuma became party leader.
He returned to South Africa as ambassador late last year, in time for the ANC’s 54th national conference at Nasrec.
“South Africa continues to be a place that debates politics very actively, very passionately. I admire a country in which the media and citizens energetically engage with big political issues and, on that, I found South Africa has become even stronger on my return.”
He says the activism of civil society, first during the Aids crisis and now on state capture, is a reflection of the healthy state of South Africa’s democracy.
Schäfer was present in the boiling cauldron at Nasrec and attended the ANC’s anniversary celebrations in East London last month to watch the shift in power to the new leadership under Cyril Ramaphosa.
He says the complexities in South African politics are sometimes hard for someone from abroad to properly understand.
“I think the delegates of the ANC were aware of the responsibility they carry for the future of the country. And the wind of change that South Africa and the world can feel at the beginning of 2018 is a result of the elective conference in December 2017.”
While international relations had significant import under Thabo Mbeki, the Zuma administration has not paid much attention to asserting South Africa’s role in the international community.
South Africa went through the motions to maintain relations with trading partners, but the focus was squarely on the Brics group of nations.
Now that the new ANC leadership is making overtures to international investors, Europe’s economic powerhouse is hoping to step forward.
“We Europeans understand that South Africa, as an important country in the southern hemisphere, wants to engage with its partners and friends from the South. However, it’s not a zero-sum game. There is no reason to play partners against each other,” Schäfer says.
“Europe, and in particular Germany, has a lot to offer for South Africa’s striving for transformation and for overcoming the traumatising legacies of the past — in terms of the jobs we can offer, the growth
Germany and other European countries can produce, and the contribution to education and professional training.”
But why would the rest of the world still care about South Africa, particularly after the perceived fairytale unravelled over the past few years?
“South Africans tend to forget that the world is watching,” says Schäfer. “The great experiments that our nations share, the experiment of peaceful change in Germany with the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in South Africa with the end of apartheid . . . serve as beacons of hope, that history after all can turn out all right.
“In Germany there continues to be keen interest in the fate and destiny of South Africa. The heroes of your country — Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Archbishop [Desmond] Tutu — are known to every schoolchild in my country. They have become truly global icons,” he says.
“I think sometimes South Africans underestimate the impact those people have made upon the world.”
Schäfer says that because South Africa is at a turning point, it has the opportunity to exploit its full potential.
“Everyone knows what needs to be done; now it needs to be done,” he says. “The development strategy of South Africa is not party politics. The entire country agreed on a National Development Plan, on the need for transformation and change.
“I think whoever engages with South Africa in politics, in trade and in investment has a moral obligation to contribute to that change in South Africa.”
Germany is already heavily invested in South Africa as one of its principal international trading partners and is hoping to increase its stakes.
“There are few countries like mine that are so well positioned to help with that necessary transformation. Hundreds of thousands of South Africans already work in German companies. What they receive is proper training, decent pay, good jobs and prospects for their families and communities.”
Schäfer says the high quality of German cars produced in South Africa reflects the success of the partnership.
But there need to be safeguards and standards of ethical conduct defining how business is done, with the Steinhoff scandal serving as the most recent example of how an open environment can be exploited to entrench corruption.
Steinhoff is dual-listed in South Africa and Germany.
“Whoever wants to do business in South Africa — locals or international investors — has, I think, a legitimate right to expect a propitious and fair political, economic and legal framework and a level playing field. But they can also be expected to contribute to transformation and to adhere to good and ethical business behaviour,” says Schäfer.
Expectations are high that with change in the air there will be decisive action to root out corruption and bad governance, and the German and European business community will wholeheartedly join such efforts, he says.
While South Africa needs to re-establish its standing, international relations and global security are somewhat uncertain, particularly as a result of an unhinged US president who is disdainful of the developing world.
Donald Trump’s labelling of African nations, Haiti and El Salvador as “shithole countries” made diplomats around the world balk.
Trump’s clumsiness and inability to perceive the nature of foreign relations have sent the world in search of new leadership for the free world.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is viewed in some quarters as a voice of reason who could provide leadership to the global community in uncertain times.
Schäfer says it is no surprise that Merkel is respected and has acquired such a good reputation in the world.
“We have been able, because of our political stability and our economic strength, to pursue our interests without neglecting the values on which we stand.”
But, he says, Germany would rather not act as Big Brother in the global community.
“Out of our history, we have learnt one lesson: without partners and friends, without being willing and able to stand in the shoes of your neighbours and friends, you cannot pursue your interests. You will fail dismally. That is why German leadership always means Germans should share responsibility with partners.”
But despite its relatively stable politics, Germany, like every other place on the planet, is feeling the rumbling underfoot.
“Ten years ago, we would not have had any doubts about the stability of democracies and the rule of law, not only in the West but beyond. We cannot be so sure any more,” says Schäfer.
“The wave of populism that shakes the world far beyond the Western world reminds us of the necessity for each generation to fight for democracy, the rule of law, freedom of the press and against fake news.”
Germany is currently without a government following the outcome of the September elections, in which no party won a clear majority. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union has remained the largest party but dropped in support by 8.6%.
The populist right-wing party, Alternative for Germany, is for the first time represented in the federal parliament, with 12.6% of the vote.
Built on compromise
The migration crisis in Europe, for which Merkel was heavily criticised, loomed large over the elections and continues to affect the coalition talks still under way. More than four months after the polls there are hopes for a deal with the second-largest party, the Social Democrats.
But despite the fact that there is no government, Germany remains stable, prosperous and fully functional, says
Schäfer. “I think it is good and right that political parties take their time to very diligently build trust and strike the right compromises for a stable government in the next four years.”
South Africa was built on compromise and the time is coming when negotiated solutions might be required again, possibly for the establishment of coalitions at national and provincial level.
Schäfer says that in such tricky negotiations, the constitution and its values should constitute the basis of every agreement.
“Without trust and a spirit of political compromise, a coalition agreement is doomed to fail.
“What you need are politicians that act according to reason and realism. You need an electorate that understands that the party that they voted for cannot implement each and every promise they gave in a world of coalition agreements.
“That is the essence of democracy — the willingness to engage in a spirit of compromise that allows trust to be built.”