Macron boosts Merkel ahead of key coalition vote

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that his ambitious EU plans to reform the European Union need German backing, as Chancellor Angela Merkel gears up for a crucial vote on forming a new coalition government.

“Our ambition cannot come to fruition alone,” Macron told a joint press conference with Merkel before talks in Paris. “It needs to come together with Germany´s ambition.” Merkel´s immediate focus is domestic, with her political future on the line after more than 12 years in power. On Sunday, some 600 delegates from Germany´s Social Democrat (SPD) party will be asked to give the green light to a preliminary coalition agreement reached with her conservatives last week. “I am confident of the path ahead and I believe that at the SPD congress many will be open to the coalition negotiations,” Merkel told reporters in Paris. “But the decision is for the Social Democrats in Germany alone.”

At Merkel´s meeting with Macron, which appeared aimed at giving her a boost, the German leader said a “stable German government” was crucial for the EU to move forward with its reform agenda. In November, she was left considerably weakened after her first attempt to form a new coalition government collapsed when the pro-business FDP party walked out. - ´Ambitions for Europe´ - She then turned to the SPD, her outgoing governing partners with whom she hopes to form another grand coalition.