A Frosty Merkel Arrives in DC

German chancellor emphasizes friendship, but opposes stimulus

(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. More»

She says attempts to form a harmonious multicultural society have failed

(NEWSER) - Talk about a downer of a speech: German Chancellor Angela Merkel recounted yesterday how, in the 1960s, "our country called the foreign workers to come to Germany and now they live in our country" ... but attempts to build "a multicultural [society] and to live side-by-side and to enjoy each other" have "failed, utterly failed." The remarks came during a gathering of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union, the BBC reports. More»

Horst Koehler resigns after controversial military remarks

(AP) - In a surprise move, German President Horst Koehler resigned today after being criticized for reportedly linking military deployments abroad with the country's economic interests. The resignation, effective immediately, came only a year into Koehler's second term as the largely ceremonial head of state, and creates a new headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who installed the former International Monetary Fund boss as president in 2004. More»

German chancellor speaks to joint session

(AP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by exhorting the world in a speech to Congress to "tear down the walls of today" and reach a deal to combat global warming. Merkel, frequently interrupted by robust applause, also reiterated her country's commitment to fostering security in Afghanistan and said that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran "is not acceptable." More»

(NEWSER) - Europeans may have longer lives and longer vacations, but red-blooded Americans don't want their socialist ways on this side of the ocean, right wing media mouths are eager to remind everyone, MIchael Freedman writes in Newsweek. Underlying much of the opposition to health care reform is the fear that it's part of an anti-American conspiracy to transform the US into a "European social welfare state," according to Rush Limbaugh. More»