Merkel & Macron Called King & Queen of Europe, As WaPo Delivers Blockster Report On Trump & Putin's Brotherly Love

Euro News calls German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuelle Macron the king and queen of Europe. 

Choreographed or not, the moment epitomised the unity and common purpose that the two leaders want to present, now that a British Prime Minister is no longer able to build alliances to challenge their countries' positions as the pre-eminent forces of the European Union.

It appears that Brexit has only driven them closer together. Not only do they finish each other's sentences, but they broke with tradition at the EU Summit, giving a joint press conference.

The German Chancellor has heaps of problems on her plate, including forming a government in limbo after the September elections. Leaders of Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed on Friday to enter talks on a new government led by Merkel conservative Union bloc (CDU). Merkel's earlier attempts to form a coalition with two smaller parties collapsed in November. What seems clear is that SPD is seeking an arrangement that will keep Merkel as Chancellor and thwart any possibilities that the German government will collapse. 

In France, Emmanuel Macron's popularity has recovered in what Politico Europe calls an 'unprecedented' bounceback. Fifty-two percent of respondents in a new poll are now satisfied with Macron's presidency, an increase of six points.

Macron romped to victory in May's presidential run-off with historic wins across a large swath of French voters. Following his announcement of a series of proposals to cut taxes for the wealthy and reform labor laws, leaving his the least popular French president at the four-month mark, Macron's approval is now climbing again. 

The French president has earned high marks throughout Europe for standing up to Trump. In a climate summit attended by prominent American leaders of the climate-change movement but not Trump -- who was not invited to the summit, given his stance on climate change -- Macron declared: "We are losing the battle." He called Mr. Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris deal “very bad news,” but added that “many have decided to not necessarily accept the American federal government’s decision to leave the Paris agreement.”

Much is made of Macron's machismo and his clear understanding and embrace of symbols of power, as he struggles to addresses problems around France's class problem, post-colonialism, immigration and military.  What Macron does have is an international voice that commands more respect in six months than François Hollande’s did in five years.

There is no doubt that Macron and Merkel work well together as people. While people in power are almost always rivals in the recesses of their minds, AOC can't help wondering if Macron handles Merkel so well because of his 'feminist' bonafides (which some have challenged) but also his rare marriage to a much-older woman, who he obviously respects and, frankly, adores.

Macron may like power but not in the Trump tradition. The world observed Trump's powerful handshake dominance falter with the physically smaller-man Macron. The world also observed Trump's failure to shake Chancellor Angela Merkel's hand on her March visit, either ignoring her or pretending not to hear her suggestion that they have a handshake before the cameras. Trump was visibly uncomfortable with Merkel and for more reasons than her pro-immigration positions. 

The Washington Post added more color to Trump's dislike of Merkel this week, writing that Trump chose to go to the bathroom as National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster briefed the president on issues Merkel would likely raise.

Trump left the door open and instructed his aides to speak louder so he could hear them while peeing, according to the Post. For her part, Merkel has gotten the message, saying largely negative words about Trump's administration at the May G7 summit and condemning his refusal to keep the US in the Paris climate change agreement.

A White House official said that while inside, Trump "took a glance in the mirror, as this was before a public event."

The details of Trump's bathroom break in his March Merkel briefing are detailed fully in the Washington Post's blockbuster: Doubting the intelligence, Trump pursues Putin and leaves a Russian threat unchecked.