Saturday 30th October 2021
Sign of continuity
Merkel and Scholz together at G20
The old federal government is only executive in office, the new one has not yet been formed. So still-Chancellor Merkel and probably soon-to-be-Chancellor Scholz come together to the G20 summit and perform there as a duo. Above all, they want to demonstrate one thing: continuity.
The outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her likely successor Olaf Scholz want to demonstrate continuity in German foreign policy at the G20 summit in Rome that begins today. The two will also perform as a duo in the bilateral talks on the fringes of the conference with US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among others.
The only executive SPD Vice Chancellor Scholz had already attended a meeting of finance and health ministers on Friday. Merkel is expected to kick off the summit in Rome on Saturday. Scholz rated the joint appearance as a “good signal of continuity” to the international partners. There were similar statements previously from those around Merkel, who is leaving office.
The first day of the summit will be about the fight against corona and the economic consequences of the pandemic. The most important economic powers want to work to ensure that at least 70 percent of the population in all countries worldwide will be vaccinated against Corona by next September. The health and finance ministers supported this goal of the World Health Organization (WHO) at their meeting in Rome. However, it is still unclear what the G20 will do to achieve this goal. On Friday, Scholz called for considerable efforts: “It is necessary that we do everything possible together in the world against this pandemic. This is a global crisis that also requires global responses.”
Preparations for Glasgow
The second big topic is climate protection, which will only be on the program on the second day of the summit. Then the world climate conference begins in Glasgow. There it is to be discussed how the goal formulated in the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 can be achieved to limit dangerous global warming to 1.5 degrees if possible. The G20 countries play the decisive role here because they are responsible for more than three quarters of emissions.
US President Biden has been in Rome since Thursday and met with Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron. On Saturday, discussions with Merkel, Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the agreement to prevent an Iranian atomic bomb are on the agenda. Biden’s predecessor, Trump, left the deal while the three European countries tried to save it. The Americans have moved away from the very tough Trump line under Biden. The G20 unites almost two thirds of the world’s population and four fifths of the world’s economic power. With the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Russian President Vladimir Putin, two of the most important countries will not be physically represented at the summit at the highest level due to Corona. But they are switched on via video.
The summit is secured by 8,000 to 9,000 police officers. Around 2000 soldiers also guard important buildings, sights, embassies and ministries. On Friday there were already minor protests for a fairer distribution of vaccines and school reform in Italy. On Saturday afternoon (2.30 p.m.) the Communist Party wants to demonstrate against Prime Minister Mario Draghi not far from the Colosseum. About half an hour later, the demonstration by climate activists, including Fridays for Future, is planned. According to media reports, around 5000 participants are expected.