The possibility of the German liberal party FDP entering into a governing coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel means Macron’s plans to overhaul the eurozone have suffered a serious setback. The FDP has made it clear throughout the campaign that it would draw a “red line” in front of any plans to further integrate the eurozone, as France advocates. [...]
As always, Macron’s speech will be loaded with symbolism. It will take place at the Sorbonne, Paris’ oldest university and once the center of France’s intellectual life, in front of European students. The choice of the date was more controversial: The French president went against the advice of some in his entourage, who cautioned that this overt attempt to set part of the German political agenda might backfire if he falls way short of his ambitious goals.
The new French leader notably wants Europe’s economic and monetary union to have some form of common budget under the authority of a so-called eurozone finance minister. Although Merkel and even her hard-line Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble have greeted Macron’s general ideas with the appearance of polite interest, many German officials and parties oppose “fiscal transfers,” or the pooling of budgetary resources, even in a limited way.
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