EU WAR: Merkel’s power wanes as Macron seizes power in IMF and Brussels takeover
ANGELA Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have long been united in their fight for control in Brussels – but recent EU appointments prove the French president is leaving the German Chancellor behind.
President Emmanuel Macron is understood to have been influential in the recent appointment of the International Monetary Fund managing director – Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Chief Executive and former Commission Vice President. While the appointment of Ursula von der Leyon as European Commission president last month couldn’t have been a better result for Mr Macron after he prevented Germany and Angela Merkel’s lead candidate Manfred Weberfrom getting the EU job.
Mr Macron’s influence at the top comes at a time when Mrs Merkel power is waning amid concerns at home, with Germany suffering an economic downturn, and her own health concerns.
The situation comes just months after Mr Macron and Mrs Merkel put pen to paper on a new deal, which updated their 1963 post-war reconciliation accord in a move widely viewed as an attempt to reinvigorate the EU’s main axis with growing euroscepticism and nationalism simmering.