Merkel Under Fire For Openly Supporting Sarkozy Campaign

Berlin, Feb 7, IRNA -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing criticism by her junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) for her a active support of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his bid to win re-election. A deputy chancellery spokesman confirmed to media representatives in Berlin on Monday that Merkel would help Sarkozy in his presidential campaign this spring but only in her function as the leader of the German Christian Democratic party (CDU) and not in her role as the nation's chancellor. Merkel's intervention in the French presidential campaign has been met with criticism by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. Meanwhile, Sarkozy and Merkel will also give a joint interview to France 2 and Germany's ZDF broadcasting network that will be aired later this evening. The interview is reportedly part of a campaign by Merkel to support Sarkozy for re-election in April elections, over his Socialist rival Francois Hollande. A spokesman for the CDU said Merkel, in her capacity as the leader of Germany’s conservatives, was planning to make several joint campaign appearances with Sarkozy in the spring, ahead of the two-round French election on April 22 and May 6. The dates of their joint appearances were not yet available. The exact nature of Merkel’s involvement is also unclear. While European leaders sometimes make brief appearances at rallies of center-right or center-left allies abroad, it is extremely unusual for them to intervene openly. 'The CDU chairwoman, Chancellor Angela Merkel, will actively support Nicolas Sarkozy with joint appearances in the election campaign in the spring,' the CDU was quoted saying in an earlier statement. Merkel’s right-hand man in the CDU, general secretary Hermann Groehe, has already been deeply involved in the French presidential campaign. In a speech on Saturday in Paris, Groehe attacked Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, saying his policies would weaken Europe. Hollande leads the opinion polls in France. In European parliamentary elections in 2009, Sarkozy participated in one rally in Berlin for the CDU youth wing./end