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2022 FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

‘New start for Franco-German ties’: German politicians congratulate Macron on vote win

Leading German politicians have expressed relief and delight at the result of the French election, which saw centrist Emmanuel Macron returned to power with a clear majority over far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Published: 25 April 2022 09:32 CEST

'New start for Franco-German ties': German politicians congratulate Macron on vote win

Emmanuel Macron, President of France, celebrates with his supporters on the Champ de Mars on Sunday. Photo: dpa/AFP | Thomas Coex

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday soon after projections showed him winning a second term in office.

“Your voters have sent a strong vote of confidence in Europe today. I am happy that we will continue our good cooperation,” Scholz, of the Social Democrats (SPD), wrote on Twitter.

Félicitations, herzliche Glückwünsche, lieber Präsident @EmmanuelMacron. Deine Wählerinnen und Wähler haben heute auch ein starkes Bekenntnis zu Europa gesendet.
Ich freue mich, dass wir unsere gute Zusammenarbeit fortsetzen! pic.twitter.com/ZJQSc6OAz9

— Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) April 24, 2022

The final results were released shortly before 2am and had the centrist incumbent Macron on 58.55 percent of the vote, beating his far-right rival Marine Le Pen who took 41.45 percent.

Macron is the first French president to win a second term for two decades, but Le Pen’s result also marks the closest the far-right has ever come to taking power in France and has revealed a deeply divided nation.

Saskia Esken, chairwoman of the SPD, told Deutschlandfunk that she was delighted at the result but said that more needed to be done to oppose the extreme right.

“The whole of Europe has the task of also counteracting these tendencies, also to ensure that people feel more strongly connected to politics than is apparently the case in many places at the moment.”

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner described the French election as being “about fundamental questions of values.”

“The French have decided in favour of Macron. Thus, a united Europe is the biggest winner of this election,” said Lindner, who is leader of the liberal Free Democrats.

Diese Wahl war eine Richtungswahl. Es ging um grundsätzliche Wertefragen. Entschieden haben sich die Französinnen und Franzosen für #Macron. Damit ist das vereinte Europa die größte Gewinnerin dieser Wahl. Vive la France, vive l'Europe. 🇪🇺🇫🇷 CL #presidentielles2022

— Christian Lindner (@c_lindner) April 24, 2022

Green Party leader Omid Nouripour said that European should take the “normalisation of extremist discourse” in the French election campaign as a warning. “It is necessary to stand up with all our strength for democracy and freedom and defend our European values,” he said.

Opposition leader, Friedrich Merz of the CDU, welcomed the result and said that “now a new start for Franco-German cooperation is possible and necessary!”

Merz’ ally in Bavaria, CSU leader Markus Söder, described Macron’s victory as a “good signal for Europe” which showed that “unity and cohesion are particularly important at the present time.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party also expressed their satisfaction with the result after Le Pen improved on her performance in 2017, when she also faced Macron in the final round.

“Emmanuel Macron’s victory is an illusion,” AfD chairman and lead spokesman Tino Chrupalla. “The change of course in Europe is a reality and cannot be stopped in the long term.”

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.