Episode in which Angela Merkel, worried that she did not understand Donald Trump, turned to Klaus Iohannis
Klaus Iohannis and Angela Merkel, Photo: Facebook – Klaus Iohannis
Former Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu reported, on Digi24, an episode from a meeting between Klaus Iohannis and Angela Merkel, in which the former president of Romania was asked by the German chancellor about the meeting that Iohannis had recently had with Donald Trump.
The episode mentioned by Hurezeanu took place when he was the Romanian ambassador in Berlin. The diplomat claims that Klaus Iohannis' opinions were respected in Europe, so Angela Merkel asked him for his opinion on Donald Trump, who had recently become president of the United States, in his first term.
Iohannis had met Trump, he was the first leader from Europe in the White House. And German politicians wanted to know more about the personality of the US president, with whom they were not on close terms.
“A prominent figure like Mr. Iohannis in the EU… His opinions were taken into account. I witnessed the negotiations of the former president in Germany. He was the first in Europe to visit Trump in 2017. I remember how Merkel, curious, asked him: How is Trump? She was curious, the German leaders didn't know what he was like, they were a bit shy, Trump also kept them at a distance”, said Emil Hurezeanu.
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Iohannis, “a very convincing president” externally
Referring to the Romanian-German bilateral discussions during the period when Iohannis was president, the former Foreign Minister says that he had a convincing presence.
“I witnessed a very informed, very persuasive president, with a very good presence. We regret that he is not as present and persuasive in internal interventions, on the internal market, where he was quite absent”, said Emil Hurezeanu.
Instead, he has doubts that Iohannis really wanted to become the Secretary General of NATO, although he announced his candidacy for this post.
“We don't know how much he really wanted the position (…) When you want to be the Secretary General of NATO, you don't call through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and your presidential advisors to the Romanian embassies to mediate this desire and turn it into reality,” Emil Hurezeanu said.
In February 2024, Romania officially notified NATO allies that President Klaus Iohannis is running for the position of Secretary General of the organization.
Klaus Iohannis officially announced on March 12 that he is running for the position of Secretary General of NATO from Romania, although previously powerful countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France had announced their support for Mark Rutte who, in fact, managed to obtain the appointment
