Beijing would vote for Angela Merkel in Germany’s upcoming general elections.
Proximity to Germany has some obvious advantages, not least helping Poland withstand the euro-crisis. Yet, it has drawbacks too, and if nothing changes in German European policy after the election, Poland’s may have to. The reason is simple: Poles have benefited from behaviour on the part of the current German government which have been costly to the EU as a whole. Poland is aware of the drawbacks in Germany’s approach and is in a position to offset them.
After the regional election in Bavaria, the outcome of the Federal election is harder to predict than ever. While the CDU’s Bavarian junior partner was able to secure a large majority of the votes, the coalition partner FDP has been left behind, receiving a mere 3.3% of the votes. In practice, this means they are no longer represented in the Bavarian parliament. The Chancellor appears untroubled by these developments.
Italy and European integration: general background
Despite periodical, yet relatively short fluctuations, support for the European Union (EU) has been a virtually constant guideline in Italian foreign policy for a number of reasons, notably EU’s perceived role as a vehicle of pan-European geopolitical stability, economic re-distribution and socio-cultural modernisation.
Without any doubt, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel and her government have shaped the course of the never ending euro and sovereign debt crisis management to a very large extent.