Obama in farewell visit to ‘friend’ Merkel
LONDON—Barack Obama makes a valedictory visit to Germany on Sunday at the invitation of Angela Merkel, a leader who has become his primary European interlocutor and political kindred spirit.
Obama will jet in to Hanover for a final bilateral visit to a country that has long been Europe’s biggest economy.
During Obama’s seven years in office, the US president has made the German chancellor first among equals, at least among European leaders.
Both leaders have an approach to politics that is heavily analytical, leading aides to talk about a relationship that is cerebral and without comparison.
“I consider Angela one of my closest partners and also a friend,” Obama told the Bild newspaper, laying on the compliments on the eve of his trip. “I’ve worked with her longer and closer than any other world leader. And over the years I’ve learned from her.”
Obama is ostensibly visiting to attend the Hannover Messe, a trade fair that underscores Ger- many’s commercial prowess.
He will touch down at 1040 GMT, jetting in from London for a two-day visit that kicks off with talks with Merkel, a joint press conference and a trip to the trade fair on Sunday.
For Obama, the trip will be an opportunity to burnish his legacy and politically embrace Merkel, whose fortunes at home have been hit by her handling of the migration crisis.
“I believe that Chancellor Merkel’s approach to the refugee crisis—and that of many Germans—has been courageous,” Obama said, voicing an opinion heard less often in Germany than Merkel would like.
Obama will also use the trip as an opportunity to press for a vast US-EU trade deal which the White House still hopes to agree or progress before Obama leaves office in January.
Tens of thousands of people poured onto Hannover’s streets on Saturday to protest their distaste for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).