Germany's president makes historic UK visit

Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier began a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, in a sign of a new era of closer relations between the two countries in the aftermath of Britain's fractious departure from the European Union.

The visit is the first time a German head of state has come to the UK since then-president Roman Herzog was entertained by King Charles's late mother Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, and Steinmeier becomes the third foreign head of state to be welcomed by the king and Queen Camilla this year, following in the footsteps of United States President Donald Trump, and France's President Emmanuel Macron.

Steinmeier, whose position is largely ceremonial, will pay a visit to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Downing Street residence and address members of parliament during his visit.

On Thursday, the German president and first lady will privately lay flowers at the tomb of the late queen Elizabeth II in Windsor castle's St George's Chapel, before joining the King and Queen for a reception.

He will also meet German soccer stars playing in the English Premier League, and visit the new London museum exhibition devoted to British musical icon David Bowie, who was closely associated with Germany.

On Friday, the president will go to the ruined cathedral in the West Midlands city of Coventry, which was bombed by German planes during World War II, for a service of reconciliation. This mirrors a visit made by the king to the northern German port city of Hamburg during his state visit in 2023, his first overseas trip since becoming king, when he laid a wreath in commemoration of civilian casualties from Allied bombing raids.

This visit was arranged as a follow-up to the Treaty on Friendship and Bilateral Cooperation, known as the Kensington Treaty, that was signed by Starmer and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz in July this year.

At the time, Merz called the signing of the treaty, which covered closer cooperation on topics including defense, foreign policy, migration, and the encouragement of school exchange visits, "a historic day for German-British relations" and said "we want to work more closely (with the UK)", adding that it was proof that the two countries were "really on the way to a new chapter".

Steinmeier was Germany's foreign minister around the time of the referendum in the UK in 2016 that saw voters decide to take the country out of the EU in a process known as Brexit, and was outspoken in his criticism of those who led the campaign to vote leave, branding them "outrageous" and "irresponsible".

In his first speech to the European Parliament as Germany's president in 2017, Steinmeier said "populists paint the world black and white and turn fears into political capital … 'take back control' is a strong slogan that we hear everywhere. Nationalists are unable to deliver it and if it can be delivered at all, it is something we can only do together".

"It is irresponsible to lead people to believe that, in a world that is becoming more complex, the answers are becoming more simple," he added.

julian@mail.chinadailyuk.com