• Print
• E-Mail
• Feedback

09/28/2009

France's conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy gushed with joy that his closest ally on the international stage emerged even stronger from the election. Even before the official election results had been published, Sarkozy had send Merkel a congratulatory note wishing her "every success in the great task that the Germans are entrusting you with for the second time." Below, he signed the note: "Your Friend, Nicolas Sarkozy." During the debates over regulating the financial markets, the two have often shared opinions and teamed up against their Anglo-Saxon counterparts.

The left-leaning Paris newspaper Libération appeared puzzled by the "German contradiction" that would have a pro-business party join the ruling coalition in the midst of a financial crisis. It predicted that "Supermerkel" will "surely make pragmatic politics with the FDP, albeit more in a more liberal manner than before." And on the sorry state of the left in Germany, the paper wrote:"To stop liberalism from spreading in Germany and elsewhere, there needs to be a strong and united left that can beat the right and tailor its policies to win votes in the center. The SPD has not understood the need to adapt. ... For the left in France and Germany, the Rhine is no longer a border."

The Strasbourg-based daily Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace commented that the consensus support for the social market economy in Germany will continue on even without the SPD as its champion. The paper also predicted that Merkel and Sarkozy would continue to work well together: "On the other side of the Rhine, Merkel's friend Nicolas Sarkozy breathed a sign of relief," the paper wrote, "and he let her know it, too."

• Back
• 1
• | 2
• | 3
• | 4
• | 5
• | 6
• Next

• Part 1: How the World Views Germany's New Government
• Part 2: Great Britain - Less than Two Lines from Gordon Brown
• Part 3: France - A Handwritten Note from 'Your Friend' Nicolas Sarkozy
• Part 4: Russia - Eyeing the FDP Wildcard
• Part 5: Turkey - Rocky Road to EU Admission Is Seen
• Part 6: Brussels: NATO and EU Expect Continuity