Name: As the world shifts, Germany turns to India — Will it work? | Berlin Briefing Podcast
Uploaded: 2026-01-16T17:33:19.000Z
Duration: 45 min 53 s
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So we've talked a lot about how Germany's familiar old world seems to be falling apart around it, with Russia waging war, the US Going full on, nationalist China seeking economic domination, and

Adverbs of manner

So no wonder the government here in Berlin is desperately looking around the world for new friends and new opportunities to try to spin up a more positive story.

Well, that's why Friedrich Schmertz was just in India for his first trip to Asia since taking office, with lots of good vibes and lots of announcements and a big business delegation in tow.

Now, there's long been a sense that the Germany, India relationship has been a bit of a damp squib.

So in this edition of Berlin Briefing, we're going to ask this time, is it for real?

We have Mishaela Kufner here in the studio, as well as Biresh Banerjee.

And across in Delhi, we have Sandra Petersman, our bureau chief there.

I think, first of all, we're going to talk about the vibes, then we're going to get on to the business and the defense.

And then finally we're going to pose that question, is this for real?

But first of all, vibes, I think, Michaela, you are definitely the best person to kick off this conversation because you were traveling with Metz, you were on the plane, you often do this.

But this trip definitely had more vibes than the average one for a German delegation.

Well, a lot of business and defense vibes, a large delegation of CEOs.

And of course, there's always the wow factor when any German leader travels to India.

she was really taken aback, first of all by the magnitude of everything, but

And it was back then also Narendra Modi, he faces Personally, it's 1.4 billion people.

So you have here the leader of the third largest economy in the world realizing, yes, it's a large economy in terms of revenue and everything, but

this really is a lot of people and a lot of photographs of yourself in the streets.

There were thousands of photographs of Friedrich Merz.

This is a courtesy by the Indian government.

There's sort of placards around this line everywhere.

And I had seen it before because it was similar with Angela Merkel, but

I have seen so many images of Friedrich Merc as I'VE in.

In one day alone as I've ever seen in my entire life.

You assume he does have sufficient ego to cope with that.

At the same time, you do want to make sure that the photo you hand in for that particular occasion is one you're happy with.

Clearly, that is a dynamism that is also deliberate.

From the Indian side, I think a lot of it is cultural as well.

And they did go to this kite festival, which, of course, was fantastic pictures, where you see then pictures a kite with the images of the leaders concerned flying high in the sky.

And to us, it's very intense to look at this kind of imagery and this kind of spiritual, enthusiastic take on what really is a very tough political conversation between two sides.

Was this the first time Mats was flying a kite?

I know that his enthusiasm for kite flying is not documented at all.

And this was in Modi's hometown in Gujarat state.

So this was a particular kind of, like, recognition, a gesture that Modi could give to Merz.

I mean, this is not the first world leader to receive this honor.

To fly down to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, his home state, where Narendra Modi was the chief minister, the main leader of the state for more than 10 years.

That's where he really made his brand, Modi.

But remember, Xi Jinping was there in 2014, and

then what did you have six years later in 2020?

A clash between Chinese Indian troops in which lives were lost.

You had other leaders who have also come to Ahmedabad, and

I'm forgetting some of them, but Trump, famously.

There was a huge event in one of the biggest cricket stadiums in the world.

India paying 50% tariffs, the threat of secondary sanctions, and

personal ridicule on very public platforms from President Trump for the Prime Minister of India.

And Vladimir Putin just got a hug from Modi as well?

No, he was there in the same car as Modi in December last year when they drove back in the same car from the airport.

But what I'm saying is that Ahmedabad is reserved for special guests.

But just because you're in Ahmedabad doesn't mean that things will pan out all peachy.

Although I'm hoping that the Indians believe that With Chancellor Mats, it'll be slightly different.

And Sandra over there in Delhi, like, how are the vibes in terms of the kind of coverage and attention that this trip got?

If you say compared to other leaders, there was certainly more coverage, especially leading up to the Merz visit.

On the day itself, at least in the second half of the day, there was a bit of a competition as well, because not only was Chancellor Metz and Prime Minister Modi doing kite diplomacy in Ahmedabad, at the same time, we saw the new US Ambassador, Sergio Gore, who is also in extensive mentioned the special Envoy for South and Central Asia taking office here in Delhi.

So you could really see the electronic media switching from Ahmedabad over to Delhi because Serge also came in with a presser announcing that India, of course, is a very, very important partner to the United States.

So at least for the media, it was a bit of a competition.

And if I had to break it down, I would say especially towards the end of the day, perhaps SEDGW was slightly ahead of the Chancellor.

Let's quickly on the personalities of these two leaders.

So Modi and Mehrz, from where you stand, how much potential do you see for these two personalities to click?

Narendra Modi, let's just put it this way.

I think he's been looking for a win because he's been really facing a personal rubbing from his close friend Donald Trump.

What happened to those events that happened in Gujarat?

And India in general, not just Narendra Modi, is also looking to the west, particularly Europe, given what's happening in the world.

And to be to have some sort of a personal chemistry with the leader of the biggest economy in Europe is something that works as a win for Narendra Modi at a personal level and also for India in general.

And we can talk about that and expand it to the rest of Europe, but

Because in the latter half of last year, you've had this personal chemistry with Donald Trump virtually crumble.

You've had Narendra Modi photographed between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, personal ties with Vladimir Putin.

And that hasn't really gone down fantastically in the west, which India is trying to court.

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As the world shifts, Germany turns to India — Will it work? | Berlin Briefing Podcast

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