Whoever Will Be German Chancellor, Will Have Close Ties With India: Envoy

A few hours after the results of the German federal election were announced, German ambassador Walter J Lindner on Monday said that there will be no change in policy towards India.

As the new coalition government is all set to take shape, the German envoy told ANI that he does not see much change because India has its value anyway in European politics.

"Whoever be the chancellor in Germany will have close relations with India. India is so important because its 1.4 billion people India is in the region, which is not an easy area. We have excellent bilateral relations, then we have a new strategy for the Indo-Pacific. There are so many bilateral aspects from 2,000 companies in the country to 25,000 students in Germany to trade exchange there is so much so for every politician for every member of parliament for that matter it will be an important region."

"1.4 billion people on this planet, every fifth person is Indian, whatever has to be done on global aspects, be it fight against terrorism, global warming, population, climate change...there can't be a solution without India...," ambassador Lindner added.

German Ambassador Lindner on Monday said that the next government in Berlin will likely be formed by this Christmas after the left-leaning, Social Democrats (SPD) party won in the German federal election with over 25 per cent votes.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Lindner said, "As an optimist, I think we will have the next government in Germany by Christmas, negotiations among parties are going on."

According to the Federal Returning Officer, with all 299 of Germany's electoral districts reporting, the SDP won 25.7 per cent of the vote, beating out the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the centrist-right, the conservative party of Chancellor Angela Merkel, which took 24.1 per cent.

The results show that there is still uncertainty over who will become the next leader of Germany. Merkel, who over 16 years cemented her position as one of the world's most successful political leaders, will stay in the job until a coalition deal is negotiated.

After Merkel's election win in September 2017, it took more than five months for a government to be formed. Both the SPD and the CDU with its coalition partner, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have said they want to begin coalition negotiations to form a new government.

Likely coalitions in Germany will either see the SPD or CDU/CSU forming a government with the Green Party, which took 14.8 per cent of the votes, and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), with 11.5 per cent. SPD leader Olaf Scholz said voters wanted him to be the next chancellor.

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