German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) dropped the word “friend” Monday from its description of Germany’s relationship with the U.S.
CDU and its sister party the Christian Social Union released their joint election manifesto Monday. The previous campaign program described the U.S. as Germany’s “most important friend” outside Europe. It further called the “friendship” a “cornerstone” in Germany’s role on the global stage.
The new manifesto uses the word “partner” to describe the U.S.-German relationship.
The party has not commented on why it changed the terminology, but it follows a series of comments from Merkel criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s leadership.
The chancellor recently urged the EU to “take its fate into its own hands” as the U.S. and the U.K. are looking after their own interests.
“The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I’ve experienced that in the last few days,” Merkel said at a campaign rally in Munich May 28. “We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands.”
Trump has at the same time gone after Germany for its large trade surplus with the U.S. and its low defense spending.
Trump and Merkel are scheduled to meet Thursday ahead of the G20 meeting in Hamburg. Merkel recently said she won’t “overlook tensions” with Trump, arguing the Paris climate agreement is “irreversible and non-negotiable.”
Merkel enjoyed a much closer relationship with former President Barack Obama, who described the chancellor as his closest ally during his eight years in the White House.
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