BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s embattled minority government has named Greens politician Tobias Lindner as its transatlantic coordinator tasked with preparing for the second U.S. presidency of Donald Trump, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Lindner’s predecessor, Michael Link of the Free Democrats (FDP), who had cultivated ties with Republicans and Democrats ahead of the election, was a casualty of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition last week.
The break-up, which has created a leadership vacuum in Europe’s largest economy just as it seeks a united response to the U.S. election, will prompt a confidence vote in December and fresh elections on Feb. 23.
Lindner, who acts as state minister in the foreign ministry, will take over the tasks on a temporary basis from Dec. 1 until the end of the legislative period, said the ministry.
“Especially in turbulent geopolitical times, we need to work together,” said Lindner, who has been responsible for North America at the ministry since 2021, in a statement.
“Together with the future U.S. administration, we want to continue to work for peace, stability, prosperity and freedom in the world,” he added.
German news outlet Spiegel, which first reported the news, said Lindner will travel to the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada next week to discuss the impact of the U.S. election on NATO and international crises.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, writing Friederike Heine, editing by Miranda Murray and Thomas Seythal)
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