German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday congratulated the British Labour Party on its convincing victory in the UK general election.
When asked if he saw himself in a new alliance with the recently appointed British Prime Minister Keir Starmerthe leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed and said he was pleased with the outcome.
As a traditional centre-left party, Labour occupies a similar position on the British political spectrum to Scholz’s SPD in Germany.
Scholz said he knows Starmer personally and has met him several times and expects him to be a very successful prime minister.
The pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), the junior partner in Scholz’s three-party coalition, also expects a significant improvement in German-British relations under Keir Starmer, Ulrich Lechte, the party’s foreign policy spokesman, said on Thursday.
Lechte said he was convinced that there would be more political objectivity under Labour in the UK.
He added that Labour’s election victory provides an opportunity to renew and strengthen the European security architecture within NATO, calling the UK a major European troop contributor.
Lechte also indicated that the successful defence cooperation between Germany and the UK could be further expanded under a Labour government.
Other German politicians also congratulated the Labour Party, including Katarina Barley, a member of the European Parliament and the SPD’s lead candidate in the European elections in June.
“I am pleased that after years of tension, a Labour prime minister in London now has the opportunity to strike a friendlier and more constructive tone,” Barley told dpa.
Barley, who has a British father, added that the EU and the UK have become estranged after 14 years of Conservative government, including Brexit.
“A rapid return of the UK to the EU is highly unlikely,” said Barley, who stressed that the UK is an important strategic partner for the union.
“Both a Labour government and the EU are interested in a new geopolitical partnership,” she added.
