Can Kerry convince Europe to deploy troops in Iraq

[CO-OWL]

Concerning Germany I say no. "No German soldiers in Iraq" was one of Schroeder's promises in the campaign and he has repeated it again and again in the past two years.

Being asked he would stress the German military commitment in Afghanistan and Ex-Yugoslavia.
IMHO the best Kerry could hope for were increased help in training the Iraqi military and police.

Concerning France, who knows ...

[CO-OWL]

"No German soldiers in Iraq" was one of Schroeder's promises in the campaign and he has repeated it again and again in the past two years.

Schroeder doesn't need to worry about keeping election promises. The CDU is going to win the next election in a landslide.

It's a bit like John Major's situation. Blair was basically treated as the PM in waiting for two years before he was actually elected. I'm sure it's the same with Merkel, no?

Unfortunately, no.

The people are dissatisfied with the SPD/Greens government, but most are convinced CDU/FDP would not make it much better.
 
There are very different positions within the CDU/CSU concerning tax reform, reform of social security etc. and the voters miss a clear direction. Discussions whether Merkel is the right candidate are not helpful, either.

At the moment it's far from safe that the CDU will win the next election, although they maintain are comfortable (but decreasing) lead in the polls.