Baerbock's COP29 performance: Political populism or foreign policy blunder? Expert insights

The inappropriate behaviour of Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at COP29 has already become a political spectacle and is being viewed by analysts and experts from many countries primarily from this perspective. Baerbock clearly attempted to use COP29 as a platform for her election campaign.

In an interview with a Caliber.Az correspondent, Russian political scientist Svyatoslav Andrianov — Director of the Center for Political Analysis and Information Security (INGO), and Chairman of the Berlin Committee for Strategic Partnership in Eurasia — emphasized that when Baerbock addressed the conference, she spoke more as a member of the German Green Party than as the country's Foreign Minister.

"In my view, as a representative of the Alliance 90/The Greens party, Baerbock clearly, and without hesitation, decided to use the COP29 podium for election campaigning. Many ministers in the German government are in the final weeks of their term, and Baerbock is no exception. Therefore, I would advise extreme caution when listening to their statements — one can hear anything. However, in the context of the statements made by Germany’s Foreign Minister in Baku, it is worth questioning whether it is appropriate to make such remarks at an event that is not directly related to the political agenda.

Within the German political parties, there is intense competition for leadership, and Baerbock clearly followed the rule of ‘all's fair in war,’ trying to outshine her colleagues. It should be noted that the Alliance 90/The Greens party is a right-liberal [left-liberal-ed.] party, and recently, there has been a noticeable radicalization in its rhetoric. As a result, the positions of such parties are extremely one-sided and characterized by a ‘black-and-white’ mindset. If the party's agenda emphasizes the fight for human rights, its representatives will even use a climate summit to push this agenda, relentlessly hammering this theme. This is precisely what Frau Baerbock demonstrated. For members of such parties, ‘white’ only applies to those who unquestionably share their values and stance, while everyone else — Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and others — are seen as entirely ‘different colours’.

However, whether Baerbock's speech was beneficial not for her internal party struggle, but for Germany and its foreign policy, is a big question. However, this is not surprising — while the US, Russia, and China entrust the representation of their foreign policy to the most seasoned and experienced figures, Baerbock in politics is a completely random person. She became minister by entering the government as a party functionary, and nothing more," said Andrianov.

According to Kazakh political scientist and candidate of political sciences Sharip Ishmukhamedov, Baerbock's speech at COP29 can be considered inappropriate, especially for Germany's Foreign Minister.

"A country that has serious human rights issues somehow talks about human rights in other countries and demands things. The European Court of Human Rights imposed a fine on Germany for failing to uphold human rights, and this fact cannot be ignored. The rights of Syrian refugees are being violated, with mass expulsions from the country, the rights of truck drivers are being violated, and they have prepared a large petition on this matter. And most importantly, a radical political force like 'Alternative for Germany' is actively operating in the country.

What was Baerbock doing in Baku? She acted in the spirit of the already traditional German political populism, which uses abstract issues to avoid addressing the pressing problems of ordinary Germans. However, it is completely unclear why, while speaking about human rights in Azerbaijan, Frau Baerbock suddenly forgot to mention that for thirty years, part of Azerbaijan's territory was under occupation and that Baku is now actively restoring these areas. Instead of congratulating Azerbaijan on the important climate agreements reached at COP29 for the planet's future, Baerbock decided to use this platform for her political game," said Ishmukhamedov.