Luckily we’re LEAVING! Macron and Merkel plotting massive EU power-grab

France and Germany have long shared a strong partnership on European Union issues, with Chancellor Angela Merkel putting fellow leader Emmanuel Macron’s plans for EU reform at the centre of her coalition talks.

French MEP Jean Arthuis claimed Ms Merkel could push for an even stronger alliance should she succeed in forming a majority government after leaving Germany without formal leadership for months.

Speaking to Euronews, Mr Arthuis said: “If this grand coalition is formed, I think it will be favourable to Europe. 

“Strengthening the Franco-German relationship will be good. Also beyond the partnership to the rest of the European partnership.”

The German leader is struggling on through months of political uncertainty following an inconclusive election in September. 

But her decision to seek a political partnership with the pro-EU Social Democratic Party (SPD) could signal Ms Merkel is prepared to make concessions on EU-related issues.

Sealing a deal with the SPD to renew their ‘grand coalition’, which has governed Germany since 2013, would be Ms Merkel’s best chance of securing a fourth term in office after the election weakened both parties.

Mr Macron’s plans are supported by SPD leader Martin Schulz, who wants more investment in the eurozone and has even called for a ‘United States of Europe’ to bring the bloc closer together.

France’s ambitious president wants to see more pan-European policies that would allow financial transfers between countries, which he believes would better prepare the eurozone for a future crisis.

A coalition between Ms Merkel’s CDU/CSU alliance – which lost ground to the AfD in September’s ballot – and the SPD has run Europe’s largest economy for eight of the past 12 years.

It has, however, tended to be viewed as a last resort by both politicians and voters as it leaves the opposition weak.

If the parties then progress to more detailed coalition talks, the consensus among politicians and observers is that those discussions would last until at least March.

Should the exploratory discussions fail, Germany could either face fresh elections or, for the first time in the post-war era, a minority government.