Chancellor is 70: Klingbeil provides Merz “responsibility for Germany” | EUROtoday
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Chancellor is 70
Klingbeil provides Merz “responsibility for Germany”
The seventieth birthday was truly imagined to be a “normal working day” for the Chancellor. But then he was showered with items. And there was additionally a political message on the get together.
New ties, a German flag and a really particular piece of paper: Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was showered with items by political mates and companions on his seventieth birthday. He and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (SPD) used the reception within the Reichstag constructing to invoke the cohesion of the coalition.
“It took us a while to come together, but we are getting into a stable working mode,” mentioned Merz in his speech to the SPD chief, in keeping with members. Everyone felt the shared accountability for Germany.
Framed “Responsibility for Germany”
Klingbeil had beforehand given him a framed piece of paper on which he himself had written his suggestion for the title of the coalition settlement in the course of the coalition negotiations: “Responsibility for Germany.” That later turned the title of the doc on the idea of which Merz and Klingbeil have been governing collectively for six months.
His reward was “not fancy stuff, but a reminder of shared appointments and the shared responsibility that we bear and which I am also very happy to take on with the Chancellor,” Klingbeil informed the dpa.
According to members, on the reception the SPD chief praised the results-oriented cooperation with the Chancellor: “When we discussed things, it worked, not always immediately, not always smoothly, but it worked.”
Flag from the Reichstag tower and a squirrel tie
The Union faction took down a German flag from the northeast tower of the Reichstag constructing for Merz. The group has its assembly room there. Merz appreciated the reward as a particular signal of solidarity along with his group. “The greatest honor for me was being able to become a member of the German Bundestag,” he mentioned in his speech.
At the parliamentary group assembly, chairman Jens Spahn (CDU) introduced the Chancellor with one other reward with a wink. Three new ties with animal motifs: elephants, dolphins and squirrels. The Chancellor significantly likes to put on ties like this.
Till Brönner supplies the music
Merz truly wished to spend his birthday as a “normal working day”. “It doesn’t suit me to make a big fuss about my birthday,” mentioned the CDU chairman earlier than his special occasion. The calculation did not fairly add up.
Around 300 invited friends attended the group’s reception. In addition to the Union MPs, the leaders of the SPD and Greens, the Union Prime Ministers and Klingbeil as Vice Chancellor had been invited. The music was offered by one of many Chancellor’s favourite artists: the jazz musician Till Brönner and his band.
In her speech, Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) praised Merz as an individual who does not do issues by halves. Union parliamentary group chief Jens Spahn mentioned it was free pondering that drove Merz. “You are a fighter. You have always been a man who wants to shape and lead. You do politics out of civic responsibility.”
Söder: “We can expect Friedrich Merz for a long time to come”
The CSU regional group chief Alexander Hoffmann praised the Chancellor’s clear language: “Your words are not subject to the spirit of the times,” he mentioned. “You don’t ask first: What is popular? But rather: What is right?”
CSU boss Markus Söder joked that the Chancellor will most likely by no means be praised once more on this legislative interval, as was the case on his birthday. With a view to the Chancellor’s health, he mentioned: “We can expect Friedrich Merz for a long time to come.”
The first over-70 chancellor since Adenauer
Merz is the primary Chancellor over 70 since Konrad Adenauer. He solely turned head of presidency at 73 and remained so till 87. Merz is the oldest of the 27 heads of state and authorities within the European Union. But there are additionally some highly effective heads of state who’re older than him: China’s President Xi Jinping is 72, Russian President Vladimir Putin is 73 and US President Donald Trump is already 79.
After the official birthday reception, Merz wished to proceed celebrating along with his kids and grandchildren in a small circle.
dpa
https://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/kanzler-ist-70–klingbeil-schenkt-merz–verantwortung-fuer-deutschland–36323266.html