Outgoing German govt taps Greens politician to plan for Trump presidency

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, a source in the foreign ministry said 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 until the end of the legislative period in addition to his existing role,” the source said.

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)