Word: merkel
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...media sometimes exaggerate the incidents. Calling out to the American President in front of Queen Elizabeth II, after the official photo op at the G-20 in London ("Mr. Obamaaa! I'm Mr. Berlusconi!") was a lovely Borat moment - harmless, and quite funny. Talking on his mobile while Angela Merkel was waiting for him at the NATO summit? He was just showing off ("I can convince Turkish leader Erdogan to accept Rasmussen as head at NATO. Leave it to me, guys.") And when he told earthquake victims in Abruzzo to think of their situation "like a weekend of camping," sure...
...Appearances are not always insignificant, however. Moscow has voiced its hostility to EaP, and said it will defend its influence over the six neighboring nations involved. And many E.U. leaders - notably the Russia-friendly Sarkozy, Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel - want to avoid provoking an increasingly stroppy Kremlin. Indeed, ever since Russia's August 2008 war with Georgia, E.U. officials have become particularly wary of possibly prodding the Kremlin into similar action by appearing to set up camp with the EaP countries in Russia's backyard. (See pictures of Sarkozy...
...Germany and France, always wary of enlargement, have raised doubts about Turkey and the Balkans, who are currently in talks to join. Last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a "phase of consolidation" in the E.U. once Croatia becomes the 28th member in a few years. Enlargement skeptics like Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy raise mainly political objections but the recession gives an added budgetary argument. (See pictures of Sarkozy...
...leader last week. On April 16, French daily Libération reported that Sarkozy had described Zapatero as "not very clever" during lunch with a group of legislators the previous day. According to the paper, he also made belittling comments about U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, landing himself in the middle of an embarrassing international press frenzy. Addressing Sarkozy's remarks, Royal said on April 18 that she'd written to friend and fellow Socialist Zapatero begging his pardon for the slight, and stressing that "those statements represent neither France nor the French people". (Read "Sarkozy...
Presidents pushing people around is old hat, of course. But Sarkozy's criticisms of some of the most powerful leaders on earth is rare. Merkel in particular might feel slighted. Sarkozy's threat to bolt London's G20 summit earlier this month if Washington and London didn't bend to his demands on stimulus strategies and financial market regulations was made with the support of Merkel - who put her previous disdain and mistrust of Sarkozy aside in order to back...