Photos: AP/dpaAngela Merkel’s first in-person meeting on Friday with US President Donald Trump is one of the most anticipated visits the new American leader has had - and perhaps one of the Chancellor’s most crucial. Germans were never this important, and the Americans were never this disinclined to even care about Europe,” added Techau. This in turn would also be bad for Trump, Techau notes, because it could lend further support to her most serious challenger: the left-of-centre Social Democrat Martin Schulz, who has been styled as an anti-Trump figure. But even if Trump gets nowhere in his talks with Merkel on trade, he could still try to spin it to his advantage politically. But when it comes to military spending, Trump has a point about America’s NATO allies not doing enough, Techau notes.

Source: The Local March 17, 2017 09:22 UTC