Breaking with tradition, potential German Chancellor candidate rushes to France to discuss 'doing great things for Europe'

Mr. Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), the coalition party that just won the German parliamentary election, made a surprise visit to the capital Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.

According to DW news agency , during the meeting in Paris on February 26, the two sides discussed a number of issues, including the recent change in US policy regarding the conflict in Ukraine, as well as European security issues. The two sides agreed to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

“There were a lot of points of consensus and starting points for joint initiatives” during the meeting, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that the atmosphere was friendly.

Mr Merz posted a photo on social media with Mr Macron, thanking the French president for his “friendship and trust in the German-French relationship”, writing: “Together, our two countries can achieve great things for Europe”.

This is Mr. Merz's first foreign trip since the conservative CDU/CSU bloc won the general election on February 23, with 28.5% of the vote. According to the newspaper Lemonde , this is contrary to the usual practice in Germany that a new chancellor must wait until after being sworn in in parliament to make diplomatic visits.

After the general election, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, although winning with 208 seats in the 630-seat German Parliament , did not have enough majority to form a government. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came in second with 152 seats, but the CDU/CSU announced that it would not cooperate with this far-right party and is currently considering forming a coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which came in third in the election.

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