Photo/Illutration Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel answers questions at the Berliner Ensemble in Berlin on June 7. (AP)

Improving the lives of blue collar workers was the first task Neville Chamberlain accomplished shortly after he became Britain’s prime minister in 1937.

The Factories Act, passed that year, limited the working hours of women and children. This was followed by the Holidays with Pay Act of 1938.

But it was not his labor policy that earned him a place in history.

Chamberlain remains in disgrace for his infamous diplomacy of appeasement of Adolf Hitler that led to World War II.

A similar plight appears to be befalling former German Chancellor Angela Merkel now.

While in office, Merkel held repeated talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. She also promoted the Nord Stream 2 project for a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.

She is now being criticized for her diplomatic and economic collaboration with Russia as it did not stop Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In her first public comments since leaving office last year, Merkel said June 8, “Diplomacy isn’t wrong just because it doesn’t succeed. So I don’t see why I should say that was wrong, and I won’t apologize for it.”

Her point, I believe, was that she does not deserve blame for having tried at least to seek a compromise.

In retrospect, Merkel’s diplomacy was exemplary within any framework where certain values, such as freedom and democracy, were shared.

She preserved European unity during the Greek financial crisis. And she tried to reason with U.S. President Donald Trump at the 2018 Group of Seven summit in Canada.

But her diplomacy did not work with Putin.

Because all nations have to coexist on Earth, it would not do to simply sever diplomatic and economic ties with nations that do not share the same values. That goes not only for Russia, but for China, too.

Then, how best to maintain dialogue and explore common ground?

The answer does not lie in criticizing Merkel’s diplomacy.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 11

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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