The German chancellor has stressed the need to "move forward together" and said she will relay her concerns to Trump. She also called for uniform security standards in German states following the Berlin terror attack.
Image: picture-alliance-dpa/O. Dietze
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged the United States to stick to multilateral cooperation, and warned that US President-elect Donald Trump's protectionist attitudes could threaten the global economy.
"My profound conviction is that there are more advantages ... to moving forward together than when everyone resolves their problems for themselves. I am truly convinced of this," she told a press conference at the end of a two-day meeting of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in the town of Perl in the western German state of Saarland.
What is protectionism?
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When asked whether or not Trump's "protectionist tendencies" could pose a threat, Merkel recalled the international response to the 2008 global financial crisis, which "came from the United States," she noted.
"The response to overcome that financial crisis was not a response based on closing oneself off, but a response which called for cooperation, for common rules, for regulation of financial markets," Merkel said.
"I think this way worked, and naturally we are going to seek dialogue with the new American president," who will be inaugurated on Friday, January 20.
As the United States is Germany's most important trading partner, Trump's protectionist rhetoric has unnerved business in Europe's largest economy. Merkel also underscored the importance of the G20 industrial powers group, which will meet in Hamburg, Germany, this July.
To reach that goal, however, Merkel emphasized that Germany's 16 states must have the same security standards, arguing that it is not sensible for states to have different rules regarding video surveillance and random police checks.
The CDU party leader also went after German states which are governed by rival parties, the Social Democrats (SPD), the Left party and the Greens.
Life is better for the people living in states governed by the CDU or its Bavarian sister-party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), Merkel said, because they feel they can "live more securely."
'Most difficult election yet'
The leaders of Merkel's CDU met on Friday and Saturday in Saarland to kick off the election year. Three states will hold elections, beginning with Saarland in March, before Germany's general election in September.
Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term, has said she expects this election to be the most difficult yet. However, the CDU leader was confident that despite differences with the CSU over an annual refugee cap, the joint conservative campaign will be successful.
The CSU has been pushing for capping the annual number of refugees that Germany accepts at 200,000 - an idea that Merkel opposes. In 2015, Germany saw 890,000 asylum-seekers arrive and 280,000 arrivals in 2016.
Merkel said leaders of her party agreed "that we can live with such a disagreement."
rs/tj (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
The many faces of Angela Merkel
Rarely a day goes by without new images of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel being published. Her official face is often serious, her governing style cautious. But some images show there is more to Merkel.
Image: dapd
The 'Merkel diamond'
Merkel has become known for using the same hand gesture at public appearances and in front of the camera, putting her fingertips together to form what some call the Merkel-rhombus – or in German, the "Merkel-Raute." If she has done so consciously or as a routine gesture out of habit is a question that have contemporary critics and journalists puzzled. Just what is she trying to say with it?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Michael Kappeler
A European politician
The German chancellor is known for her commanding and engaged appearance, often appearing quite somber, especially in Europe. Though she has been known to crack a smile at the right time, here, at the recent European leaders summit in Bratislava, she was more composed. To her left is Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke and to her right, the Prime Minster of Belgium, Charles Michel.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Hoslet
Selfie with the chancellor
Merkel has come into the spotlight for her response to last year's influx of refugees.. Questions about her response to the crisis can be answered when elements of her personal life are considered, as Rinke does in his book. She frequently visits schools and refugee shelters and while doing so, takes time out for selfies, as here in 2015 with Syrian asylum applicant Anas Modamani in Berlin.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
A juggler in the coalition
As chancellor and head of the CDU party, Merkel faces a bit of difficulty in remaining considerate with some of her working partners. She does not respond with the huffiness her SPD party colleague Sigmar Gabriel is known for. Against attacks by the head of CSU Bavaria, the "archetypical Bavarian man," Horst Seehofer, she responds with cool objectivity.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm
Curious about the digital age
For trained physicist Angela Merkel, the world of the internet and digital media is said to be relatively foreign, although her team does now have an Instagram account, which is fed by her official photographer. Still, that didn't stop her from grabbing the ear of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at a lunch meeting at the UN in 2015.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The preacher's daughter
The daughter of a Protestant minister, Merkel's values are said by Rinke to have been shaped by her Christian upbringing. In 2016, she was given a private audience with Pope Francis I at the Vatican, where the two exchanged words on their favorite books.
Image: Reuters/A. Pizzoli
A toast to friendly political relations
Merkel is not known to let it all hang out and, though rare due to her full schedule, celebrations are done in style. In 2013, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Élysee agreement between Germany and France, Merkel invited the entire parliament to toast the two countries' friendly relations over champagne.
Image: AP
A private chancellor
The chancellor gets only a few free vacation moments each year and even when on holiday, as here in Poland, she is not free from the prying eyes of the public. Her husband, Joachim Sauer, also pictured here, is rarely in the spotlight.
