A leading German activist has slammed Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he is not travelling to the climate change summit next week but is instead going "for a lovely meal at an Italian restaurant" in Berlin with his wife and daughter as it is his birthday on Wednesday.
Activist Luisa Neubauer, a leading light in the German Fridays for Future movement, explained that nobody could possibly have planned for the meeting of dozens of leaders at the UN conference in Turkey to coincide, of all days, with the chancellor's 71st birthday. Nevertheless, she said, his absence sends "the worst possible signal to the international community."
Regardless of his domestic political priorities, Merz has also always claimed to present Germany internationally as a reliable partner, one that honours its commitments and is forward-looking, she said.
"All of this is undermined by his 'Bella Italia' absence from the climate negotiations. It is unworthy of Germany and an insult, particularly to those nations around the world that are already facing an existential threat from rising sea levels," explained Neubauer. Hope regarding the climate crisis will once again have to come from elsewhere, she added.
According to the local newspaper Westfalenpost, Merz said on Friday evening that, instead of attending a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic on Wednesday - his 71st birthday - as originally planned, he would now be going out for a "nice meal at an Italian restaurant" with his wife and daughter, who were coming to visit.
The fact that he could spend time at all with at least some of his family - he has a son and two daughters and is also a grandfather - was "a wonderful birthday present," said Merz. A Cabinet meeting was still scheduled for the morning.
On Wednesday, a government spokesman in Berlin had not given any specific reasons for Merz's cancellation, even when asked, and had merely said that there were "always different interests and different scheduling conflicts."
At the UN Climate Change Conference in the Turkish city of Antalya, starting on Monday, nearly 200 countries plan to spend two weeks discussing how to curb global warming and help poorer nations. In addition to some 70 leaders, tens of thousands of diplomats, observers and media representatives are expected to attend.
