The Odd Couple.(World Affairs)(Angela Merkel, Frank-Walter Steinmeier)

Byline: Stefan Theil

Germany's unwieldy grand coalition is making for a confused foreign policy--and it could get much worse.

If there is a clash of opinions between George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice, you know where the buck would stop: Bush. And the differences would be keptacarefully behind the scenes. With Gordon Brown and his foreign secretary, David Miliband, it wouldabe muchathe same. Not so in Germany. Not only do Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier belong to rival political parties, thanks to the awkward grand coalition of Christian and Social Democrats that's been running the country since 2005, but the two have been sniping ever since, often to the confusion of Germany's allies. Whether it's over Berlin's relations with the Dalai Lama or how to deal with an authoritarian Russia, Merkel and Steinmeier have had some very public disagreements. Now that Steinmeier has emerged as a leading candidate to run against Merkel for the Social Democrats in next year's Bundestag election, the discord--and the confusion it sows--will only grow.

Even without the politicking, it was predictable that the two would clash. As chief of staff to Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroder, Steinmeier was the protege of the most instinctively anti-American and pro-Russian politician to run modern Germany, and helped engineer a policy that put the country's business interests before human rights, pushing for Germany to "emancipate" itself from America by pursuing new alliances in a multipolar world. Merkel, an East German, made it her priority to undo her predecessor's policies, returning to German politics what she believes is a moral compass while steering her country back toward its traditional Western allies.

One key focus for the clash of world views is Russia, whose president, Dmitry Medvedev, visited Berlin last week-- his first stop in a Western capital since taking office in May. Not that long ago, Schroder called Vladimir Putin a "flawless" democrat, and Steinmeier clearly favors a similarly quiet, nonconfrontational approach. Merkel, by contrast, has been giving Putin and Medvedev some frank talk about human rights, press freedom and Western discomfort with Russia's growing authoritarianism.

Similarly, when Merkel received the Dalai Lama at the Chancellery last year, Steinmeier said it was wrong to annoy China, snapping at Merkel that her meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader was mere "window dressing." "It takes more courage today ...