Breaking with tradition, potential German Chancellor candidate rushes to France to discuss 'doing great things for Europe'

According to DW news agency, during the meeting in Paris on February 26, the two sides discussed a number of issues, including the recent change in US policy regarding the conflict in Ukraine, as well as European security issues. The two sides agreed to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

“There were a lot of points of consensus and starting points for joint initiatives” during the meeting, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that the atmosphere was friendly.

Mr Merz posted a photo on social media with Mr Macron, thanking the French president for his “friendship and trust in the German-French relationship”, writing: “Together, our two countries can achieve great things for Europe”.

This is Mr. Merz's first foreign trip since the conservative CDU/CSU bloc won the general election on February 23, with 28.5% of the vote. According to the newspaper Lemonde , this is contrary to the usual practice in Germany, that a new chancellor must wait until after being sworn in in parliament to make diplomatic visits.

After the general election, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, although winning with 208 seats in the 630-seat German Parliament, did not have enough majority to form a government. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came in second with 152 seats, but the CDU/CSU announced that it would not cooperate with this far-right party and is currently considering forming a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which came in third in the election.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/pha-vo-thong-le-ung-vien-thu-tuong-duc-tiem-nang-gap-rut-den-phap-ban-chuyen-lam-nhung-dieu-tuyet-voi-cho-chau-au-305876.html