Neck rubs, tapped phones: Merkel has history with US leaders

Neck rubs, tapped phones: Merkel has history with US leaders

SeattlePI.com

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BERLIN (AP) — Neck rubs, pricy dinners, allegations of phone tapping, awkward handshake moments.

Angela Merkel has just about seen it all when it comes to U.S. presidents.

The German chancellor is making her 19th and likely final official visit to the U.S. on Thursday for a meeting with President Joe Biden — her fourth American president — as she nears the end of her 16-year tenure.

Merkel, who turns 67 on Saturday, will be heading into political retirement soon after deciding long ago not to seek a fifth term in Germany’s Sept. 26 election.

One of the longest-serving leaders of one of the closest U.S. allies, Merkel is set for a warm welcome when she meets Biden during her first visit to Washington since he took office in January.

Still, contentious issues are on the table — notably the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany, which the U.S. has long opposed, and Biden's efforts to convince European allies to drop objections to intellectual property waivers for sharing COVID-19 vaccines with the developing world.

It's a fitting coda for Merkel's dealings with American leaders. A look at some of the highs and lows over the years:

GEORGE W. BUSH

Merkel came to power early in Bush's second term and set about repairing relations chilled by predecessor Gerhard Schroeder's vocal opposition to the war in Iraq.

She quickly became a close ally, perhaps finding that the way to the president's heart was through his stomach. During a visit to Merkel's parliamentary constituency in northeastern Germany in July 2006, Bush couldn't stop talking about a wild boar roast the chancellor laid on for him.

At a Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, a few days later, Bush gave Merkel an impromptu neck-and-shoulder rub that quickly spread across the internet....

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