Franco-German motor runs Sarkozy-free

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a joint television interview with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Monday, requested by the latter in the hope of boosting his chances in the upcoming presidential elections on April 22. Although Sarkozy and Merkel have accomplished much together, the Franco-German motor is perfectly capable of running smoothly without Sarkozy, the liberal business paper Les Echos comments: "It's easy to make fun of the leaders' implicit argument that 'you don't change a winning team'. And it's very tempting indeed in view of the patent failure of the Greek recovery. ... Of course, Angela Merkel would work with François Hollande if he were elected, because the Franco-German alliance transcends political differences. And perhaps that would be a good thing. Nevertheless to believe that everything that has been achieved these past years could be undone with one stroke of the pen, or that a change at the Elysée would be enough to renew growth and confidence in Europe would be very naive indeed."

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Germany, » France
All available articles from » Dominique Seux

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, February 7, 2012