Merkel and Macron Publicly Clash Over NATO – The New York Times

Mr. Macron is eager to put forward longer-term strategic proposals, but is increasingly impatient with a more stagnant Germany and a divided coalition in that country, where the left-leaning Social Democrats block his European military and security proposals and the conservative Christian Democrats block his proposals for more economic integration, higher spending and eurozone reform.

Mr. Macron misread Ms. Merkel, thinking that in her last term she would want to create a historical legacy for the European project, as Chancellor Helmut Kohl did by accepting the euro, and the French leader feels almost betrayed by her caution, a senior French official said.

But that is to misunderstand Ms. Merkel, who does not have big visions and is as pragmatic as you can get, and she is not going to change after 10 years, Ms. Major said.

Then there is NATO, which Germany relies on for deterrence along with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, whose leaders have been sharply critical of Mr. Macrons musings about the alliances weaknesses. Ms. Merkel refused to publicly accept Mr. Macrons brain death criticism, calling his words drastic.

While many agree privately with Mr. Macron that President Trumps unpredictability and moodiness have hurt NATO, made worse by his special dealings with an increasingly authoritarian and Moscow-leaning Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, they believe it was wrong to state those doubts publicly.

Polands prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, called Mr. Macron irresponsible, describing his comments questioning NATOs commitment to collective defense, known as Article Five, as dangerous. Mr. Morawiecki told his Parliament that any moves to question the guarantee included in the NATO treaty were a threat to the future of the European Union and the military alliance.

As Franois Heisbourg, a French defense analyst, put it, Mr. Macron was talking like a think tanker instead of as the leader of a key NATO ally and nuclear power. But there are divisions in NATO, he said, and at least Macron is trying to address the problem at hand.

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Merkel and Macron Publicly Clash Over NATO - The New York Times