German coalition agrees on Steinmeier as president

Presenting Merkel with the Ohel-Jakob Medal in the Munich synagogue rebuilt after it was razed during Adolf Hitler’s Kristallnacht, Schneier, the senior rabbi of East Park Synagogue in NY, urged the chancellor to hold fast to her course. Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told Reuters on Tuesday: “She will address this question at the suitable time, as has been said many times in the past”.

“At a time when there’s unrest and instability around the world, sending a signal of stability – and so the conservatives supporting Steinmeier’s candidacy – is in my view right and important”, Merkel said. At an integration summit in Berlin on Monday, Merkel cited the first article of Germany’s post-war constitution: “Human dignity is inviolable”.

Germany spent about 1.2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense a year ago. The two leaders make the case.

Some see the levelheaded Merkel emerging as a possible counterpoint on the world stage to the steady global march of personality-based populism, including in the United States.

As Americans were coming to terms with their election of Donald Trump, a NY rabbi was conferring an honor on another world leader.

Yet skeptics point out that Merkel may not be suited to rally the West.

“And this of course means fundamentally and indispensably also the participation and contribution of the strongest part of the West, and this is the United States of America”, he added.

White House aides had hoped Obama might be able to return to the Brandenburg Gate, where he spoke in 2013, for a symbolic visit on his last trip to Germany, but the visit didn’t materialize.

Despite the toll that 11 years of non-stop crisis fighting has taken on her, Ms Merkel’s aides say that Mr Trump’s victory and Britain’s decision in June to leave the European Union have, if anything, reinforced her determination to continue.

“We owe it to our companies and our citizens – and in fact to the whole worldwide community – to broaden and deepen our cooperation”, Obama and Merkel said. “This will only work together, within Europe, and if we can have the backing of the trans-Atlantic alliance”.

Merkel has acknowledged she has made mistakes with the controversial refugee policy. They are conscious that Berlin is in no position to solve problems such as climate change and crises in the Middle East without American help.

On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc agreed on Germany’s most popular politician, Steinmeier, whose name had been put forward by his Social Democratic Party (SPD).