From rome
In what was perhaps his last visit as German Chancellor to the Vatican and Italy, given the results of the recent elections in his country, Angela Merkel he wanted to greet two people he has known for a long time before leaving, pope francis, with whom he has interviewed at least five times since the Argentine pontiff was elected in 2013, and with the Prime Minister of Italy, Mario Draghi, whom he has known for a long time and with whom he has collaborated since he was president of the Italian Central Bank and then of the European Central Bank (ECB).
Merkel is preparing to step down after four terms in government as chancellor in Germany, beginning in 2005.
On Thursday, she and her husband, Joachim Sauer, were received in a private audience by Pope Francis at the Vatican. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes in which they talked about the different crises in the world. Both in the meeting with the Pope and with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, which took place later, “satisfaction was expressed for the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and Germany and the need to relaunch cooperation was stressed. to face the current crises, in particular the health emergency and migration ”, indicated the Vatican.
Speaking to journalists shortly after, the German Chancellor said that “it was a great honor and a joy to meet in a private audience with the Pope” and said that they also spoke about problems of the Church and certain political challenges such as that of the European Union. , after the Pope recently visited Eastern Europe (in 2019 Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania and in 2021 Slovakia and Hungary). Another issue that the Chancellor highlighted was that They talked about the next climate conference to be held in Glasgow (United Kingdom) and commented that it is “encouraging” that the Catholic Church has put the “conservation of the created” as one of its fundamental concerns, in tacit allusion to Francis’ permanent concern in this regard and to his ecological encyclical “Laudato si”.
Another topic that was addressed in the meeting was the pedophile scandals that have hit the Church. “On this visit I wanted to emphasize that we believe that the truth must come out and that the issue of child abuse must be fully addressed,” Merkel told reporters.
The German Prime Minister, before the papal audience, went to visit the headquarters of the Civiltà Cattolica, the magazine of the Jesuits. In the house where the Civiltà Cattolica used to be, many German artists who lived and worked there were housed since the end of the 18th century. And before entering the papal audience, she also visited St. Peter’s Basilica accompanied by the person in charge of the basilica, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti. In the afternoon he met Francis again at the Coliseum at a meeting on peace organized by the Catholic Community of Sant’Egidio, which helps the poor of the city but also the countries with problems.
Lutheran
Born in Amburgo in 1954, Angela Merkel He lived a good part of his life in the German Democratic Republic (socialist) when the country was divided in two. Of Lutheran religion, of which her father was a shepherd, He studied Physics and then Chemistry at the University of Lipsia. Then he did a doctorate in Quantistic Chemistry. In the 1990s, she began her political career serving several times as a minister and member of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU). Magazine Forbes He called her one of the most powerful women in the world. Now he will remain in office until the German political parties reach an agreement to form a government (expected before the end of the year), as none obtained a majority of votes in the September 26 elections.
The meeting with Draghi
The meeting with his colleague, Prime Minister Draghi, took place first in Chigi Palace, seat of the presidency of the Council of Ministers, but ended in a wonderful place, a terrace of a famous hotel in Rome where the two politicians had lunch and from the you can see a good part of the old city and its parks, such as Villa Borghese.
A few days before leaving for Italy, Merkel had commented with journalists that she was eager to fulfill her visit to Italy, a country that she will continue to love, she said, and that she has visited many times even on vacation. It is not ruled out that she will return soon since her husband, a chemist, will soon go to work in Turin as an international member of the Academy of Sciences of that city in northern Italy.
Before the press, Merkel also recalled when Draghi led the ECB. “He took very important steps to save the Euro. Now it has a completely different role with a very inclusive government ”.
For his part, Draghi was not far behind in his thanks. “I thank the Chancellor, on behalf of the government and myself, for the decisive role she has played in shaping the future of Europe in these years” (…) The Chancellor has known how to guide Germany and the European Union with calm, determination and sincere Europeanism, “said Draghi in the meeting with journalists at the end of the discussion with Merkel. And he added: “We have agreed on the fact that Italy and Germany should coordinate more their positions on the management of environmental and energy issues.”
Another important issue highlighted was that both agreed on the need to “accelerate the process of developing a foreign policy and a European defense.” For some time, there has been talk in certain political circles that Europe could be much better off if it had a single government and a unified army.
Both leaders also agreed that this is “the time for collaboration” and that we must work together on various international issues, including Libya – a country at war – with which Italy has a long history. And on Afghanistan, they agreed on the need to help the country from a humanitarian point of view but at the same time underline the importance of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The G20 – the group of the 20 most developed countries in which Argentina participates and which is now chaired by Italy – on Afghanistan, which will be held next week, will be an opportunity to talk about this issue but also about the fight against terrorism, he recalled. Draghi.
Mrs. Merkel has been “A champion of multilateralism when other countries bowed to protectionism. He has been an example for so many young people and women interested in politics. It has transformed the role of Germany in Europe. We will miss her, ”Draghi said in his final salute to the German chancellor’s 16-year career in power.
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