By Salama A Salama German Chancellor Angela Merkel sat on the 40th floor of a Nile-side hotel, staring at the horizon. It was a rainy day in Cairo; one of those days where the sky is dark and foreboding, like the future of this region. The woman who leads Germany -- as well as 24 other countries of the EU -- knows that the labyrinth of horror and conflict that is the Middle East cannot be navigated by envoys and emissaries alone. This is why she came to see for herself where the ground lies. The Middle East, with its turbulent past and disturbing present, has become a constant headache for Europe, and the EU hasn't yet decided what to do about it. Sometimes it chooses confrontation, sometimes it goes for diplomacy. Sometimes it seeks America's guidance, and sometimes it yearns for something new. Merkel epitomises the vitality and adaptability of the German people. She symbolises the newly found confidence of a united Europe. The first ever woman chancellor in Germany comes from the generation that was born after World War II and experienced the Cold War firsthand. Hers was the Europe of Mitterrand and Kohl, Thatcher and Major, Schroeder and Chirac; people who devoted their lives to putting Europe back on its feet and left international policy for the Americans to sort out. Merkel grew up in East Germany, a daughter of a clergyman. She managed to obtain a doctorate in physics before going into politics. She joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Helmut Kohl in 1990 and became a minister a few months afterwards. When Kohl lost the 1998 elections due to a corruption scandal, Merkel turned against her mentor, forcing him to resign as leader of the CDU. Merkel finally got the top job; replacing Gerhard Schroeder in late 2005. Before coming to the Middle East, Merkel passed by Washington to seek US President Bush's endorsement for a new peace initiative. This was her first mission outside Europe as EU president. But the timing was rather unfortunate, with war looming over Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, East Africa and the Sudan. The Quartet (the US, UN, EU, Russia) was supposed to pave the way for a European initiative, but instead it reiterated, in a recent meeting in New York, the same conditions that led to the siege on the Palestinians. Two more factors complicated Merkel's visit: first, the outbreak of fighting between Fatah and Hamas, and second, the announcement by Washington that it was funding a security force for President Mahmoud Abbas. Merkel's tour of the region is mostly of an exploratory nature. She will meet Arab leaders, many for the first time, and talk about peace in the region. She will be taking her first tentative steps into a scene that differs completely from that to which she is accustomed in Europe. Perhaps her experience in East Germany and her familiarity with totalitarianism may come in handy. But it is too early to judge. Perhaps she will conclude that the best option for Europe is to build pressure to push on with the peace process. Or Merkel may finally decide that her time and efforts are too precious to waste in this region. One wonders what was in her mind as she looked to the horizon across Cairo.
