German Chancellor Angela Merkel refuses to go in person to a G7 summit in the United States in June, as proposed by US President Donald Trump, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman for the German government confirmed to AFP on Saturday.
“To date, given the general situation of the pandemic, it cannot accept participation in person, a trip to Washington,” said a spokesman for the German government in Berlin, confirming information from the online american media Politico. “The Chancellor thanks President Trump for his invitation to the G7 summit,” he added.
The risks of the Covid-19 pandemic
Angela Merkel, a scientist by training, is the first leader of the G7 (Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy) to formally decline this invitation. The age of the German Chancellor – 65, who is also that of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – puts him at higher than average risk compared to the Covid-19 epidemic.
As a reminder, the United States is the first victim in the world with more than 100,000 dead and 1.7 million cases of contamination according to the latest reports. The White House had also initially announced in mid-March that it was giving up, due to the epidemic, to bring together in person the heads of state and government of the G7 and preferred to stick to a format by videoconference.
But last week, Donald Trump announced a summit to be held in June “mostly at the White House”, although some meetings could be organized in the presidential residence of Camp David, in the neighboring state of Maryland.
Other chilly G7 members
The Republican, who has his eye on the presidential election of November 3, wants to make a G7 summit with flesh and blood leaders the symbol of normalization he calls for, as opposed to a blockage activity that risks costing him dearly on the electoral level.
The White House said on Friday that the President and the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, himself a survivor of the coronavirus, had spoken to each other and “agreed on the importance of bringing a G7 together with leaders in person in the near future”.
The initial reactions of G7 leaders to Donald Trump’s proposal had been cautious. French President Emmanuel Macron or that of the European Council, Charles Michel, said they were ready to participate “if the sanitary conditions allow it”. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed the importance of studying “the recommendations of the experts”.
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