Experienced G20 negotiators consider the fact that the head of government is bringing her successor to be an unprecedented constellation.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin Angela Merkel (CDU) and Olaf Scholz (SPD) will arrive separately. The Federal Minister of Finance is flying to Rome on Friday to meet his colleagues from the most important industrialized and emerging countries (G20). The Chancellor will not land in the Italian capital until Saturday, when the summit of heads of state and government from the G20 countries begins. Merkel and her likely successor Scholz will contest the weekend in a double pack.
The Federal Minister of Finance will not only accompany the Chancellor to the official summit rounds, as is customary anyway. Merkel also invited Scholz to accompany them to their bilateral meetings, said German government officials.
Among other things, the two US President Joe Biden and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet. Further talks, for example with the heads of government from Argentina and India, are planned.
Merkel and Scholz are signaling to their international partners that they can expect continuity in G20 politics from Germany even after the upcoming change of government. Topics at the G20 summit will include climate change, the corona pandemic and the development of the global economy, which is currently being affected by high energy prices and problems in supply chains.
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“A nice round thing”
Merkel is the longest-serving head of government in the G20 group. She has attended all G20 summits since the format was founded in 2008. Accordingly, the change in the Chancellery is being followed closely and there is great interest in the likely successor Scholz.
Representatives from other countries would of course ask questions, says a German government official who is already negotiating the summit declaration in Rome. The joint appointments of Merkel and Scholz are a good signal, “a nice round thing”.
Long-serving G20 negotiators see the fact that a head of government brings his likely successor with him as an unprecedented constellation. The charm here is the combination of executive finance minister and candidate for chancellor, says a German government representative. This enables Scholz to participate in a double role.
Merkel and Scholz, on the other hand, are unlikely to celebrate this specialty. They are known more as sober people who would not appear in the exuberance of feelings, it was said by confidants.
Merkel received her certificate of discharge from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday, but will continue to run government until a new Chancellor is elected. The possible future traffic light coalition parties SPD, Greens and FDP are aiming for Scholz to be elected Chancellor in the Bundestag in the Christmas week of December 6th.
More: Time of the change of power: Merkel is leaving – but not quite yet