At first glance, nothing distinguishes the visit by US President Bush to eastern Germany from his earlier trips: Mysterious airplanes land at regional airports, commando divers examine the local pond, a warship lies at anchor on the Baltic Sea coast, garages are cleared out on police orders and even the manholes are being welded shut.
And yet everything is supposed to be different this time. Bush himself is said to have felt the security measures during his last visit -- to Mainz in February 2005 -- were exaggerated. His motorcade drove through deserted streets -- an experience the president apparently doesn't want to make again.
That's why "the population is there too" this visit, as German government officials phrased it yesterday. The Americans expressly desired "being close to German citizens," the government officials said. An audience of a thousand people will attend the welcome speeches on the Hanseatic city Stralsund's Old Market. The members of the audience were selected by the townhalls and district offices of the area. Some citizens also sent in applications. About 50 hand-picked guests have been invited to the barbecue night with Bush and Merkel that will take place in Trinwillershagen, a town 30 kilometers (19 miles) away from Stralsund. According to government officials in Berlin, Harald Ringstorff, the premier of the eastern state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, "will be there on many occasions as well." The member of Germany's Social Democrat Party (SPD) had criticized the preparations for the presidential visit in his state.
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The third visit between Bush and Merkel is said to be devoted mainly to developing the personal side of their relationship. Such a meeting will make it easier to talk on the phone later on, according to officials in Berlin. The barbecue night is therefore the unrivalled highlight of the trip -- the plan is for it to be "deliberately relaxed." Just as it's considered an honor to be invited to the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, the country outing in Germany's "wild East" is intended as a gesture of friendship. The greater the rusticality, the greater the sense of mutual trust -- that's the statesman's maxim that Bush and Merkel are following. Dinner will consist of a 30 kilogram (66 lbs.) wild boar, as well as grilled deer and duck.
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