“For the second time in 10 days, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany was seen shaking at a public event in Berlin and struggling to maintain control of her body, but her spokesman insisted she was well,” the New York Times reports.
Pompeo Abruptly Cancels Trip to Germany
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly canceled a scheduled trip to Germany where he was planning to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel ‘due to pressing issues,'” CNN reports.
“No specific reason was given for the cancellation. The press pool traveling with Pompeo has not been told where they are going next, and have been warned they may not be able to report from the country they are going to until after they leave.”
Lara Trump Calls Migrants Worst Thing In German History
Lara Trump, President Trump’s daughter-in-law and a campaign official, told Fox Business that “the downfall of Germany” was Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow refugees into the country.
Said Trump: “It was one of the worst things that ever happened to Germany.”
Merkel to Step Down as Party Leader
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will give up leadership of her center-right Christian Democrat Union (CDU) party after 18 years in the post,” CNN reports.
“Merkel announced during a meeting with officials that she will not seek to run for re-election at the party’s convention in December. But she made clear that she wanted to remain as chancellor, a position she has held since 2005… The announcement is a sign of Merkel’s weakened power within her own party, and waning popularity in the country.”
Bloomberg: “The unexpected reversal by Merkel, 64, signals the beginning of the end of an era during which her command of Germany put its stamp on Europe and beyond for more than a decade. Even so, Merkel’s term as chancellor runs until 2021 and Merkel has said she intends to serve it out.”
Merkel’s Government Teeters Amid Clash on Migration
“Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany struggled to keep her government together on Monday, after her rebellious Bavarian interior minister first threatened to resign, then backtracked, and finally gave her a second ultimatum on creating a hard border with Austria to stem the flow of migrants,” the New York Times reports.
“The clash between the chancellor and the minister, Horst Seehofer, who is also the leader of the Bavarian conservatives in Ms. Merkel’s coalition, escalated late Sunday, after eight hours of talks failed to resolve a standoff over a policy that would affect relatively few migrants but has become deeply political. Failure to end the stalemate could topple Ms. Merkel’s government and even end her long run as chancellor.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“We have a very strong relationship with the government of Germany. Looking back in the history books, today is the 71st anniversary of the speech that announced the Marshall Plan. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the D-Day invasion.”
— State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, quoted by the New York Daily News, citing D-Day as proof of the United States’ strong ties to Germany.
Germany’s Merkel Gets a Lifeline
Washington Post: “The impasse that has gripped German politics all week showed signs of breaking Friday as a main center-left party backed down from pledges that it would not consider teaming with Chancellor Angela Merkel to form a government.”
“The shift gives Merkel a potential path out of a crisis that’s been called the worst of her 12-year tenure. It also lessens the chance that Germans will go back to the polls in early 2018 after an inconclusive September election left the country without an obvious formula for a stable government.”
Merkel’s Win Marred By Surge in Far-Right Vote
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s election to a fourth term was tarnished by a surge in vote for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Germany’s election result confirms the overriding trend of European politics in the past year: the crumbling of the Continent’s established parties in the face of voter anxiety over economics and identity.”
“The fragmented vote mirrors this year’s elections in other Continental European countries including France and the Netherlands. Established parties have suffered steep losses, especially on the center left, and voters have turned to upstarts on the nationalist right, the anticapitalist left or the liberal center.”
CNN: “The AfD won 13% of the vote and came a stunning third place behind the main center-right and center-left parties. It becomes the first far-right party to enter the Bundestag since 1961.”
Germany No Longer Refers to U.S. As a Friend
“In their campaign program for the German election, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives have dropped the term ‘friend’ in describing the relationship with the United States,” Reuters reports.
“Four years ago, the joint program of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), referred to the United States as Germany’s ‘most important friend’ outside of Europe… But the words ‘friend’ and ‘friendship’ are missing from the latest election program which Merkel and CSU leader Horst Seehofer presented on Monday ahead of a Sept. 24 election.”
Axios: “It’s a small change, but it’s not a subtle one. Merkel has been very clear over the past few months that Europe can no longer rely on a United States led by President Trump.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The Germans are evil, very evil.”
— President Trump, quoted by Der Spiegel, in a discussion about Germany’s trade surplus.
Trump Gave Merkel an Invoice
President Trump handed German chancellor Angela Merkel a bill — thought to be for more than £300bn — for money her country “owed” NATO for defending it when they met last week, the Times of London reports.
The bill — handed over during private talks in Washington — was described as “outrageous” by one German minister.
Said the minister: “The concept behind putting out such demands is to intimidate the other side, but the chancellor took it calmly and will not respond to such provocations.”
Germany Ponders Military Build Up
Washington Post: “As the Trump administration ratchets up the pressure on allied nations to shoulder more of their own defense, no country is more in the crosshairs than Germany. If it meets the goals Washington is pushing for, Germany — the region’s economic powerhouse — would be on the fast track to again become Western Europe’s biggest military power.”
“Any renaissance of German might has long been resisted first and foremost by the Germans — a nation that largely rejected militarism in the aftermath of the Nazi horror. Yet a rethinking of German power is quickly emerging as one of the most significant twists of President Trump’s transatlantic policy.”
“Since the November election in the United States, the Germans — caught between Trump’s America and Vladimir Putin’s Russia — are feeling less and less secure. Coupled with Trump’s push to have allies step up, the Germans are debating a military buildup in a manner rarely witnessed since the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Merkel Tries to Size Up Trump
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been poring over old interviews and video of Donald Trump, seeking clues on how to influence the incoming U.S. president when they first meet,” Bloomberg reports.
“Merkel is trying to take the new president’s measure while gearing up her own campaign for a fourth term in Germany’s fall election, where she’s already using Trump as a foil. The chancellery in Berlin has reached out to Trump’s transition team to suggest an early meeting, which would give Merkel a chance to get Trump’s ear and counter his dismissive views on the European Union, NATO and free trade.”
