German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is entangled in a web of business contacts which has been exposed by the conspicuously large number of party donors on his official trips abroad this year. The accusations of cronyism have raised doubts about his suitability for the job.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle can't seem to get anything right these days, not even a goodbye. The high point of his trip to South America came in a slightly shabby conference room in Sao Paulo. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was en route to Chile, had set aside some time to meet with the German foreign minister. It was a strong gesture, one that Westerwelle had been hoping for, knowing that it would increase the value of his visit. The two men spoke for half an hour, and officials said afterwards that it had been a good discussion. As they were saying their goodbyes, Westerwelle approached Lula, arms outstretched, and tried to embrace the president. Lula smiled amiably and turned his body slightly to the side, so that the two men ended up in an awkward embrace.

The scene at the end of Westerwelle's meeting with Lula is part of a long series of relatively harmless mishaps. Everything he does seems inappropriate or exaggerated. He's not behaving in a way one would expect of a foreign minister.

At first Westerwelle caused controversy by describing calls for higher welfare benefits as "late Roman decadence." Then it was revealed that he and his partner, Michael Mronz, an event planner, were involved in a ceremony to mark the opening of a hotel in Bonn; that he takes Mronz with him on official trips where it's unclear if Mronz is accompanying him for private reasons or because he hopes to drum up business; that he likes to invite people who have contributed to his party, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), to join him on official trips; and that a business partner of his brother, Kai Westerwelle, was given a seat on his official plane. Spiegel has now learned that Westerwelle is surrounded by a network of business people with close ties to the FDP, and that one of them was recently appointed to a senior position in the foreign ministry.