Bush congratulates Merkel
President George Bush called Angela Merkel today to congratulate her on becoming Germany’s next chancellor, the White House said.
“The president told the chancellor-elect that he looked forward to working with her, to build on the strong foundation of US-German relations,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Merkel will become chancellor under a power-sharing agreement reached this week between her Christian Democrats and their rivals, the governing Social Democrats, the party of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Neither of the two major parties won a majority in last month’s elections.
Though the Bush administration didn’t openly take sides in the elections, it was seen as hoping for a Merkel victory. Bush has had strained relations with Schroeder, who strongly opposed the war in Iraq.
It is not clear, though, how much Merkel will be able to shape US-German relations. Under the power-sharing agreement, the Social Democrats will control the foreign ministry. Schroeder said he will not participate I the coalition government.
In an editorial The New York Times said the two parties were in broad agreement on foreign affairs with the notable exception of the question of Turkey’s membership in the European Union, “an issue on which a Social Democratic Party foreign minister should override Mrs. Merkel’s opposition.”
The newspaper said: “The danger is that if the major parties begin sensing any weakness at the top, they will promptly draw a bead on the next election and start competing over who demands the least sacrifice of the German people. That will be the true test of Mrs. Merkel’s leadership.”
