Hopeful that next Chancellor will continue good Indo-German relationship: Envoy
Oct 03, 2021
New Delhi [India], October 3 : Signalling that there would be no major shift in Germany's foreign policy under the new government, German ambassador to India, Walter J Lindner said on Sunday that he is hopeful that the next chancellor of Germany will continue strengthening ties between the two countries.
Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have claimed victory in the federal election. SPD's Scholz, who most recently served as the vice-chancellor and finance minister in the outgoing government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said voters wanted him to be the next chancellor.
The federal elections marked the end of Merkel's 16-year tenure as the German Chancellor. However, Merkel announced that she will not seek a fresh term at the helm of the country.
"Foreign policy is pretty much undisputed on these parties. There are, of course, nuances details. Once you come closer to a decision then there are some differences but the general lines are pretty much the same whether it's Social Democrats, Christian Democrats and the Liberals. But, I am hopeful and trustful that whoever will be the new chancellor, will be a continuation of what we have seen so far," Lindner told ANI.
As both the SPD and conservative bloc are courting the smaller parties to get a parliamentary majority for a ruling coalition, Merkel, who cemented her position for a long 16 years, will stay in the job until a coalition deal is negotiated.
The German envoy also remarked that Merkel was a "big asset" for the country and the coalition government will take shape by Christmas.
"It is a huge new chapter after 16 years. The whole world was used to madam Merkel. She was a big asset for Germany wherever I went, people said, oh wow, that's a great leader and she was elected several times in Forbes magazine another magazine's most powerful woman in the world," he said.
"Yet elections and the outcome were pretty much predicted from the last polls, so it will be very likely a three-party coalition and three or four parties which might be involved at the moment in negotiations not in pre-negotiations to see whether they could fit. And the idea is to get a coalition Treaty, which is a pretty formal thing, get a coalition treaty signed before Christmas," he added.
Germany's left-leaning, Social Democrats Party (SPD) won in the German federal election with over 25 per cent votes, but uncertainty remains over the next leader as results showed that the party won narrowly.
According to the Federal Returning Officer, with all 299 of Germany's electoral districts reporting, the SDP won 25.7 per cent of the vote, beating out the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the centrist-right, Conservative Party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, which took 24.1 per cent.
