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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001416 
 
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SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin 
Wall, CLIMATE, AFGHANISTAN, Health Care Reform;BERLIN 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories Summary 
¶2.   Fall of the Wall Anniversary 
¶3.   Climate Change Copenhagen 
¶4.   Afghanistan 
¶5.   Health Care Reform 
 
¶1.   Lead Stories 
 
ARD-TV's primetime newscast opened with a story on the celebrations 
of the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.  Many media carried 
photos of the giant dominos that will topple along the former path 
of the Wall.  "The wall will fall once again," the caption of 
Sueddeutsche's front-page photo of the dominos and the Brandenburg 
Gate remarked.  ZDF-TV's primetime newscast opened with a story on 
Saarland's coalition agreement.  All media highlighted that the 
House of Representatives approved President Obama's health bill. 
Frankfurter Allgemeine led with the headline: "Obama: Health care 
reform still this year." 
 
¶2.   Fall of the Wall Anniversary 
 
All German media carried lengthy reports on the 20th anniversary of 
the fall of the wall, highlighting: "20 years of freedom--Berlin 
celebrates.  The capital is commemorating with great festivity the 
fall of the Wall and the peaceful revolution of 1989.  State and 
government leaders from all around the world are visiting.  Hundreds 
of thousands of visitors are in town," (Berliner Zeitung). 
 
Die Welt led with the headline "November 9: a day that wrote 
history.  In Berlin, state leaders and visitors want to celebrate 
'the happiest day in recent German history' (Angela Merkel) together 
with the Germans."  In an editorial, the paper stated: "We celebrate 
the courage of the people who place freedom above all, risked 
everything and won everything.  The wall did not fall down, it was 
brought down." 
 
Frankfurter Allgemeine remarked in a front-page editorial that this 
year's Nobel Peace Prize should have been given to the people who 
helped bring about the peaceful revolution in 1989: "Above all, 
there is one name that pops out: [former Chancellor] Kohl.  Among 
the politicians of the time, he contributed most to the fact that 
the collapse of a dictatorship and the end of an ideology led 
straight to the process of Germany's reunification and to that of 
the whole continent being united in peace and freedom.  The miracle 
of Berlin was followed by the miracle of Europe....  The chain 
reaction that ran through the Eastern part of the continent led to 
the fact that Europe's nations can live today in freedom, peace and 
security." 
 
Sueddeutsche editorialized: "Germans easily tend to forget in their 
festivities on the fall of the Wall that the year 1989 was not a 
national event.  1989 was much bigger:  The epochal year shook the 
whole world, probably more than the two world wars with their 
devastating impact in the first part of the terrible 20th century. 
November 9, 1989 is a symbolic day for a geopolitical turning point 
and the beginning of a new world order.  With the fall of the Wall, 
the Eurocentric worldview began to fade, political and economic 
forces were set free that led to the rapid growth of entire global 
regions, and accelerated cultural destruction and social change. 
Europe lost its significance as the axis of politics and the 
battlefield of ideologies and power claims." 
 
Frankfurter Rundschau commented: "The lesson we should learn from 
1989 is to take action on the social and economic realities of 
today.  The people in East Germany stood up to take action without 
being certain that they could be successful.  They would have had 
more reason to be doubtful than everyone else today who leans back, 
believing that change is not possible.  We would waste the legacy of 
 
BERLIN 00001416  002 OF 003 
 
 
the peaceful transformation of Eastern Europe if we did not 
translate them into the requirements of our time." 
 
Rheinische Post editorialized:  "The iron curtain, the wall, the 
death strip-they all went right through Germany.  Only the fall of 
the Wall opened a prospect of establishing a new world order that 
reduced the confrontation and opened up the European Union towards 
the East.  Europe is growing together with breathtaking speed." 
 
¶3.   Climate Copenhagen 
 
Berliner Zeitung carried a critical editorial on Chancellor Merkel's 
efforts to push for climate protection and the Copenhagen summit: 
"Doubts have been increasing.  It was disappointing to see how 
rarely Merkel has addressed the issue of her own accord and put it 
on the political agenda.  She was actually more concerned to water 
down the environmental regulations for European cars and industries 
to do a favor to the moaning German business world.  She could 
repair this mistake now.  The G20 ministerial in Scotland failed to 
reach an agreement on the emerging countries' contribution to 
climate protection.   This is a particularly bad omen for the 
Copenhagen summit in four weeks.  Only with enormous efforts will a 
compromise for an international agreement be reached.  This is an 
historically important meeting.  However, Merkel is hesitating and 
wonders whether she should go there at all.  By putting everything 
into it, she could increase the chance of success.  If she stays at 
home, she will have finally gambled away her reputation as climate 
chancellor." 
 
¶4.    Afghanistan 
 
Sueddeutsche headlined "Reconstruction workers instead of soldiers," 
adding: "A change has been indicated in America's policy on 
Afghanistan: Washington pushes for a new civilian coordinator." 
 
Frankfurter Rundschau analyzed Britain's approach: "By exerting 
additional pressure on Karzai, PM Brown tries to assuage the 
sentiment at home.  Simultaneously, there are considerations to 
withdraw British soldiers to safer places...  Also army personnel 
are wondering whether such measures could indeed quieten the 
increasing calls to withdraw troops.  Without the support of the 
people the war could not be successful....  Many British people 
believe their government leader could get lost in the difficult 
parts of Afghanistan, just like his predecessor Blair in Iraq." 
 
¶5.    Health Care Reform 
 
Sueddeutsche editorialized: "The tough battle in the House of 
Representatives indicates how difficult it will still be to 
implement the reform.  The approval by the Senate is anything but 
certain.  A handful of Democrats is opposing the bill in the Senate. 
 They are afraid of their voters....  Failure would inevitably get 
the Republicans a majority in the Congress again in 2010.  Even 
conservative Democrats cannot want this." 
 
Under the headline "Only a small success for Obama," Berliner 
Zeitung remarked: "This was not yet the great liberating success for 
Obama. The paralyzing dispute over the U.S. health care reform is 
simply going into the next round.  The result is unpredictable.  By 
approving the bill in the House of Representatives, Obama's 
democrats took the bull by the horns.  The fear to be left behind 
with nothing is uniting them right now.  Recent election defeats in 
Virginia and New Jersey demonstrated what would happen if the 
governing party does not rule....  Obama needs this reform-quickly. 
Too many problems are on his plate to allow Washington to be 
paralyzed by the dispute over health care.  Unemployment is the 
highest in 25 years.  Other reforms are waiting." 
 
 
BERLIN 00001416  003 OF 003 
 
 
Under the headline "Miracles have a price tag," Tagesspiegel 
commented: "It is a success for Barack Obama.  A slim majority in 
the House of Representatives approved a health care reform that is 
close to his ideal.  The health care reform has been on the 
Democrat's agenda for a very long time.  They have never come so 
far.  However, it was a costly and laborious victory. The majority 
was only achieved after compromises were made that the grassroots 
consider to be serious: the prohibition to pay for abortion with 
healthcare funds....  The draft does not have a chance of getting 
through the Senate unchanged.  The second part of the Congress will 
approve a different version with further significant changes." 
 
MURPHY