Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Friday that Germany had been right to oppose the US-led war in Iraq, driving home his defiant message by repeatedly using the German word for "power," which leaders have long eschewed because of its associations with the Nazi era.
Schroeder, in a speech marking the 13th anniversary of German reunification, described the country as a "civil power" and an "economic power," responsible for fueling the growth of the EU.
The word "macht", or "power," has been laden with meaning since Hitler used it to describe a Germany bent on dominating its neighbors. But Schroeder talked about Germany's "civil power," which he said manifested itself in a peaceful foreign policy that could be spread throughout the world.
"German peace polices are policies for Europe and beyond," he said in a nationally televised speech. "I think we can be proud of the way Germany has accepted growing international responsibilities in recent years."
The chancellor's remarks came a week after he and President Bush exchanged a hearty handshake at the UN in a bid to mend the frayed ties between Germany and the US over Iraq.
On Friday, though, Schroeder won thunderous applause by reaffirming Germany's decision to sit out the war.
"When we were convinced that the assumed threat did not justify the dangers and consequences of war, we had the courage to say `No,'" he told a crowd of 1,400.
Schroeder's speech, delivered in the east, was clearly aimed at a domestic audience. His antiwar stance has been particularly popular among eastern Germans, helping to lift him to a razor-thin victory against a conservative challenger last fall.
Much of Schroeder's message was calculated to win support for his campaign to reform Germany's calcified economy. The unemployment rate in eastern Germany is close to 20 percent, after a decade of subsidies from the west that have failed to bring prosperity.
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