The day after his dramatic election in parliament as German chancellor, Friedrich Merz set off on the first trip abroad of his administration on Wednesday, heading first for France and then Poland.
By Michael Fischer, Michael Evers and Doris Heimann, dpa
The day after his dramatic election in parliament as German chancellor, Friedrich Merz set off on the first trip abroad of his administration on Wednesday, heading first for France and then Poland.
In Paris, Merz plans to talk to French President Emmanuel Macron about, among other things, how Europe can become more independent following the radical change of course in US foreign policy under President Donald Trump.
In Warsaw, Prime Minister Donald Tusk is likely to discuss migration as well as the Russian war against Ukraine.
Merz had previously announced that there would be a tightening of border checks and increased turning back of migrants from his first day in office. Poland is sceptical about the measures, however.
Merz was elected chancellor on the second attempt on Tuesday, after he suffered a historic defeat in a first round of voting in the lower house.
By the evening, however, he had been formally appointed chancellor and his predecessor Olaf Scholz had handed over the reins of power in the Chancellery, which will be Merz’s headquarters for the next four years.
Merz has met both Macron and Tusk several times.
As leader of the opposition, he repeatedly accused his predecessor of letting relations with both of them slide.
Shortly after his appointment, Merz said he wanted to be more active in foreign policy than previous chancellors.
“The world is in such disarray that a German chancellor must focus more on foreign policy and European policy than in the past, much more than in past decades,’ he said in an interview on ARD television.
Merz will be accompanied in Paris and Warsaw by new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. In a sign that Merz wants the government’s foreign policy to follow a clear line, the chancellor and foreign minister belong to the same party – something that hasn’t happened in German for almost 60 years.
Wadephul said on Wednesday that the goal of his trip to Paris with Chancellor Friedrich Merz is “to really get the Franco-German axis back on track.”
“[We will make it clear] that we can set the pace again in Europe, that we can become a source of ideas,” he said shortly before departing.
Wadephul emphasized the importance of Poland’s full involvement in the so-called Weimar Triangle group, along with France. The forum is intended to help the three countries coordinate on cross-border and European issues.
In the negotiations on a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, France and the United Kingdom have recently taken the initiative.