Interviews
Photo: SchneidewindtColleagues: Foreign Minister Steinmeier and Beckenbauer
Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier: The World Cup is a great opportunity for our country
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Bild: Mr. Steinmeier, Franz Beckenbauer recently greeted you with “dear colleague”. Would the “Kaiser” make a good foreign minister?
Frank-Walter Steinmeier: It's not a question of would he. He's already a very good foreign minister of football! He proved that during his recent journey to 51 countries who will be our guests at the World Cup. From Costa Rica to Australia he was met with open arms and he made a very convincing job of presenting our World Cup motto: “A time to make friends”.
Bild: How important is the World Cup for Germany's image abroad?
Steinmeier: It's a huge opportunity for our country! Millions of sports fans will be coming to Germany this summer or will be watching the games on television. That gives us the unique possibility of presenting our country as a friendly and open-minded host. We should all work together to make our guests feel welcome in Germany and hope that they will be happy to come back in the future.
Bild: Which team are you most looking forward to seeing in the World Cup?
Steinmeier: The teams from Africa, especially the team from the Ivory Coast with their star player Didier Drogba. And I hope we will see a much more self-confident Germany team that has got over the squabbles of the last few weeks.
Bild: Who will win the World Cup?
Steinmeier: That's not in doubt: The winner of the Final! And at the moment I see a lot of possibles for the Final: Brazil, Argentina, Italy perhaps, and why not Mexico too or the reinvigorated English or Dutch. As the German Foreign Minister it goes without saying that we've got our hopes pinned on Germany too.
Bild: Did you ever dream of becoming a professional footballer when you were young?
Steinmeier: You didn't have those sorts of dreams playing in midfield for TUS 08 Brakelsiek. It's well known that Westphalians don't tend towards overestimating their own abilities. Our motto was: Never without ambition but always have more fun playing the game. We carried that on as long I played for the club.
Bild: Frank-Walter Steinmeier – the god on the wing from east Westphalia?
Steinmeier: Definitely not. I prefer it less godly and more down to earth: I always played in positions that called for a good pair of lungs, commitment and stamina. Moreover, there was the instruction to never give up the ball for lost! All in all a good preparation for performing on the pitch of foreign and security policy. And on top of everything else make sure that Germany is never in an offside position!
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