Merkel Emerges as Obama's Main Rival

German chancellor emphasizes friendship, but opposes stimulus

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 30, 2009 7:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – Angela Merkel stresses that she is a friend of the United States and wants Washington to play "a strong role in the world"—but ahead of the G20 summit this week, the German chancellor has emerged as the strongest and most unwavering opponent of Barack Obama's call for a global stimulus. In an interview with the New York Times, she once again refused to support any further deficit spending, and she called on Obama to beware growing American debt.

While Merkel diplomatically suggested that Obama will receive a warmer welcome in Europe than George W. Bush, she underscored that "international policy is, for all the friendship and commonality, always also about representing the interests of one’s own country." The chancellor, who faces a reelection battle this fall, wants new financial regulation to be the focus of the international meeting. "Otherwise," she said, "we run the risk of already preparing the next crisis."

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Germany's Angela Merkel has emerged as the most vocal and unwavering opponent of Barack Obama's calls for a global stimulus. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)

Barack Obama walks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the 2008 presidential campaign, Thursday, July 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures while speaking during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday March 20, 2009. EU leaders are set to back a doubling of the International Monetary... (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses reporters during a press conference given at the end of a European meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Sunday March 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

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Merkel is very smart. Unlike the other Europeans, who thought the problem was that George Bush was a cowboy, she understood the problem was not Bush but the divergence between US and German geopolitical interests. - George Friedman, political analyst

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Merkel Emerges as Obama's Main Rival