Schroeder came to power seven years ago representing a new generation whose formative experience was not the Cold War, European integration, and transatlantic friendship, but German unification and the restoration of national sovereignty. For him and the team that took over after Helmut Kohl’s 16-year reign, Germany had become a normal country, no different from other European heavyweights like France or Britain.
施罗德代表着新一代的德国人在7年前掌权。这一代人的集体体验不是“冷战”、不是欧洲一体化、不是跨越大西洋的友谊，而是德国的统一和国家主权的恢复。对于他和从执政16年的科尔手中接过大权的那个团队来说，德国已经成为一个普通的国家，与欧洲其他如法国或英国这样的重量级国家没有什么不同。