GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel flew to Paris last night for talks with French president Nicolas Sarkozy on who to choose as the new EU president, a month after winning the general election and hours after her swearing in.
Though her re-election as chancellor was seen as a formality, nine of the 332 government MPs declined to support their leader in the secret ballot, putting a dampener on her day.
“I’m happy that 323 MPs voted for me and I have respect, too, for dissenting votes in a democracy, so all in all I’m a happy woman,” said Dr Merkel afterwards.
As was the case four years ago, her parents, Horst and Herlinde Kasner, watched the swearing in from the public gallery while her husband, Joachim Sauer, chose not to attend. Following the swearing in of new foreign minister Guido Westerwelle was his partner, Michael Mronz, a sport event manager.
After a round of handshakes, smiles and flowers, opposition leaders got down to business.
Green Party co-leader Jürgen Trittin accused Dr Merkel of “arrogance” for leaving Berlin without outlining her plans for the next four years.
After Paris, Dr Merkel heads to the Brussels summit and, next week, she will become the first German leader since Konrad Adenauer to address the US Congress.
Instead of a speech, Dr Merkel gave a round of television interviews on her government’s plans for €24 billion tax relief to stimulate the economy. The move will push new borrowing close to €100 billion next year, up from about €40 billion this year.
“We will push tax relief so that those who want to be able to afford something actually can afford it,” she said. “We have to run up debts to get out of the slump of minus 5 per cent GDP drop this year. If we ruin an economic upswing with too much austerity, things will be much more difficult. That’s our philosophy.”
Dr Merkel dismissed opposition criticism that her coalition with the Free Democrats (FDP) would generate social tension. Particularly controversial is a healthcare reform plan to introduce a flat insurance fee instead of current premiums as a percentage of income.
She countered claims that the coalition agreement was vague on financing for its tax and healthcare plans by saying it would be “negligent” to claim to know what the economic situation would be in 2011. Though she promised to get down to work immediately, domestic politics will have to wait a week. As well as polish her Washington speech, she has to decide who to back for the new job of European Council president.
After supporting Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg initially, sources inside her Christian Democrat (CDU) party suggest she may give her – unenthusiastic – support to Tony Blair if a German is given the new EU foreign representative. But after her surprise nomination of low-profile party colleague Günther Oettinger as Germany’s next European commissioner, all bets are off.
As one German EU diplomat put it yesterday: “Everyone who claims to know what the chancellor wants is telling fibs.”