NOW THAT THE ELECTION IS OVER, Germany is changing its tune. What’s interesting is that the pressure seems to be as much economic — based on fears of an angry reaction by American consumers — as diplomatic:

GERMANY edged closer to a U-turn on its policy towards Iraq yesterday by making clear that new evidence of President Saddam Hussein’s weapons plans could dilute its resistance to a war.

Statements by two Social Democrat foreign policy specialists have indicated a shift as Berlin begins to buckle under the strain of its argument with the Bush Administration.

The German business community has been piling the pressure on Gerhard Schröder, the Chancellor. German exports to the US are already suffering from a strong euro-dollar rate and weakening American demand. Now there is the fear of a consumer boycott.

Underberg, producers of a herbal digestive drink popular in the US since the days of Prohibition, have been the first to react. The company has sent an open letter, signed by 370 employees, to the White House apologising for a German minister’s comparison of President Bush with Hitler.

Other German companies are said to be considering taking out advertisements in US newspapers, a move that would seriously embarrass Herr Schröder’s Government. The city of Hamburg recently bought space in The New York Times to declare: “America — Hamburg stands by you.”

I wonder how many German companies have heard complaints about the Schroder regime’s anti-Americanism? Quite a few, I’d imagine.