India snubs Germany's foreign minister as German decline becomes visible

Germany loses its welcome in India: a symptom of its decline

Germany's foreign minister landed in New Delhi to find nobody waiting for her. An airport porter and a soldier who looked like a chauffeur were the entire welcome. The image, circulated in late 2022, captures Berlin's new reality: an economic power with political irrelevance.

The price of being a subordinate partner

India's snub is no isolated discourtesy. Delhi holds a pro-Russian position, buying discounted oil, while Germany languishes in strategic dependence on Washington that prevents it from even protesting the sabotage of Nord Stream. Relying on China for 40% of its exports doesn't help either: Berlin needs alternative customers and New Delhi knows it.

The Greens, from environmentalism to warmongering

The Green party, which held the foreign ministry with an ethical discourse, has become the most hawkish wing of the government. One of its most famous phrases, the 360-degree turn on Pilingui, summed up its drift. Even so, some see realistic calculation beneath the staging: the minister may have gone to seek Russian gas through Indian intermediaries.

Some analyses have laid out the cost of that intermediation in black and white, with painful markups: Germany paying more for something it could buy directly. Berlin stays silent and obeys the bloc's discipline.

As long as Germany dares not slip the American leash, there will be more empty airport tarmacs. The question is how many photos like this its industry can endure before energy costs force it to rethink everything.