Experience in 'Dealing With Difficult Men' May Not Help Merkel Manage Trump

© REUTERS / Sergei KarpukhinPainted Matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls, bearing the faces of German Chancellor Angela Merkel an US President-elect Donald Trump
Painted Matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls, bearing the faces of German Chancellor Angela Merkel an US President-elect Donald Trump - Sputnik International
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The election of Donald Trump as the next US President has raised questions about the direction in which the relations between the EU and the US will go.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel - Sputnik International
Merkel Not Hopeful About Relations With Trump – German Media
So far, Merkel has largely refrained from discussing the outcome of the US election and viewed it as inappropriate when German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier did so.

However, it should not be assumed that doesn't share Steinmeier's anxiety about the new US leader and his political plans, German magazine Spiegel Online wrote.

"Internally, she makes no secret of what she thinks about Trump's campaign. No other presidential candidate in the history of the United States has ever violated the rules of decency to the degree that Trump has. That's how Merkel sees it," the magazine wrote.

In particular, the magazine noted that after the US election campaign was over, she held a speech during which she tried to send a kind of a moral message to the new US president, a move that Germany had never made before. Among other things, she noted that Germany and the US "are connected by values of democracy, freedom and respect for law" and called on Trump to build relations between the two countries on the "basis of these values."

According to Spiegel, Merkel is not worried that much about Trump's ideology, but rather about his unpredictability and his longing for popularity and admiration. The article noted that Trump's plans and statements undergo quick changes, but "his fury against all those who refuse" to love him is indeed something that is hard for Merkel to deal with.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and French President Francois Hollande talk as they pose with ministers for a family picture during a joint Franco-German cabinet meeting in Metz, France, April 7, 2016. - Sputnik International
Angela Merkel: 'Last Resistance Fighter Against President-Elect Donald Trump'
After viewing footage of a recent speech by US President-elect Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was less confident about his acumen as a statesman, and anticipates difficult relations between Europe and the United States in coming years.

Although the magazine recalled that during her 11 years on the post of the Chancellor Merkel, got used to "dealing with difficult men," it remains unclear whether she will be able to manage such unpredictable person as Trump.

"Merkel's problem is that she knows very little about the real estate mogul and his new administration. During the election campaign, there was only sporadic contact between the German government and Trump's people, which was also a product of the fact that few in Berlin believed the Republican candidate would actually win," the magazine concluded.

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