Credit: U.S. Department of State /  Richard A. Grenell, U.S. Ambassador to Germany.

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC TIMES

President Trump’s man in Berlin,  Richard A. Grenell, U.S. Ambassador to Germany, has been a lightning rod for controversy ever since his first days on the job as America’s envoy in Deutschland in May 2018.  In a June 2018  interview with far-right website Breitbart News, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany said he hoped to “empower” the right wing in Europe. 

“I absolutely want to empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders. I think there is a groundswell of conservative policies that are taking hold because of the failed policies of the left.”

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell,  Breibart News June 3, 2018.

Grenell’s comments unleashed a torrent of criticism in Europe, particularly in Germany where  he is stationed.  

“US ambassador Richard Grenell should ‘reconsider role’ after Europe comments: German lawmaker”, DW.com reported.  Deutsche Welle (DW ) is Germany’s public international broadcaster. A senior German lawmaker told DW that Grenell had used language reminiscent of the pre-WWII period when he spoke of “empowering” anti-establishment European leaders. Grenell’s comments sparked a broad backlash.

Before the Breibart News comment, Grenell came under criticism after tweeting  that “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.”   The comment from Grenell came as President Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal reached in 2015 between multiple nations, including Germany, and reimpose sanctions on Iran.   Wolfgang Ischinger, who served as Germany’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2001 to 2006, responded to Grenell by advising him to:

“explain your own country’s policies, and lobby the host country – but never tell the host country what to do, if you want to stay out of trouble.”      “Germans are eager to listen, but will resent instructions,”   he added.

Grenell Is A Former UN Spokesperson for Hawkish Ambassador To UN John Bolton

Credit: dw.com/ Grenell with then-US Ambassador to United Nations John Bolton.

Grenell was the longest serving US spokesperson at the UN,  being George W. Bush’s mouthpiece at the World Body, in addition to serving under Ambassadors John Negroponte, John Danforth, John Bolton and Zalmay Khalilzad.  Grenell has a reputation as being polarizing with a hard-charging style. The 52-year-old ambassador is outspoken and does not mince words.

“An ambassador’s primary function is to serve as a go-between, German politicians and diplomats say—to explain and relay messages between the two countries,” POLITICO wrote.

 “Grenell, however, clearly views his role as a much more active one. Multiple sources from across Germany’s political, diplomatic and policy corps who have met him or been present for his meetings with high-level German officials say Grenell has made it clear he doesn’t want to be a messenger. Instead, these sources say, he sees himself as a “player” who has a role in influencing policy decisions—and a portfolio extending beyond just Germany to Europe more broadly. In return, Berlin sees Grenell first and foremost as someone who is here to sell Trump and Trumpism on this side of the Atlantic.” 

Politico.com.

 U.S. Ambassador Grenell threatens German firms over Russian pipeline

Newly accredited U.S. Ambassador Richard Allen Grenell stands in front of a military honor guard during an accreditation ceremony for new Ambassadors in Berlin, Germany, on May 08, 2018. (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

In the latest political snafu, Ambassador Grenell, has sent threatening letters to German companies working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, according to a German newspaper, as reported by DW.com.  Grenell reportedly warns of possible sanctions.  German companies building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Germany and Russia received letters from US Ambassador Richard Grenell warning them of “a significant risk of sanctions” if they did not pull out of the project, Germany’s mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag has reported, (source DW.com).   The large pipeline is set to deliver gas from northwestern Russia to northern Germany under the Baltic Sea and effectively double the amount of gas Germany imports from the country.  Grenell’s latest move remains highly unusual and is likely to prompt fresh tensions between Washington and Berlin, DW reports.

Isolated in Berlin:  Trump’s Ambassador Finds Few Friends in Germany: Der Spiegel 

“Refrain from Meddling”  Der Spiegel Jan. 11, 2019

“Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relationships obligates diplomats to refrain from meddling in their guest country’s domestic affairs. Their duty is to cultivate discreet contacts within the country’s government apparatus and to further their own government’s positions,” Der Spiegel wrote of Ambassador Grenell.   “As an ambassador, he is theoretically meant to sell American positions to the Germans via public appearances and interviews. Grenell has taken the opposite tack. Germany, and the American public, seem to be less important to him than the person sitting in the Oval Office,  Der Spiegel. 

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in a press briefing that Grenell “was merely highlighting that there are some parties and candidates in Europe who are doing well right now,” after Grenell’s controversial  comments in the Breitbart News interview,  the  Hill.com reported. “We’re not supporting any political party. That’s not what we do,” Nauert clarified. “We support democracy, we support countries figuring out for themselves who they want to vote in for office.”