Merkel takes likely successor to G-20 meetings
October 31, 2021
Chancellor Angela Merkel opted to take the man expected to be the next chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, to bilateral meetings occurring on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders' summit in Rome this weekend.
While Scholz is officially present at the G-20 in his capacity as finance minister, he has also been enjoying the symbolism of succession. German tabloid Bild reported that Scholz chatted up Italian host Prime Minister Mario Draghi and strolled with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whereas other finance ministers sat behind their bosses, as is custom.
Germany as model for peaceful transition of power
Perhaps most critically though, Merkel took Scholz to a meeting with US President Joe Biden. Scholz was also present two years ago in Japan during a tense encounter between Merkel and Biden's predecessor, then US President Donald Trump. But rather than be relegated to the sidelines, this time it was Scholz's moment in the sun.
The chance to see Merkel and Scholz together on the world stage served to highlight "the continuity of German foreign policy and the strength of our democratic structures," Matthias Hauer, from Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) party, wrote on Twitter.
All the world's a stage
The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline topped the agenda in the meeting with Biden, according to the White House, which put out a statement afterwards calling for Germany and the US to support Ukraine and European energy security.
The trio also discussed Afghanistan, with Biden thanking Germany for hosting 35,000 Afghans on US bases in the country as they relocate to the US.
But, in a sign of how fresh Scholz is to global politics in the eyes of the rest of the world, the White House managed to misspell his surname as "Schulz" in a memo ahead of the encounter with Biden.
Scholz also met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday.
Scholz's Social Democrats are currently in talks with the Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats to form a coalition following the September 26 election.
ar/aw (AFP, dpa)