German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday congratulated the British Labour Party on its comprehensive victory in the United Kingdom’s general election.
Asked whether he saw himself in a new alliance with freshly appointed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader concurred, saying he was delighted with the result.
As a traditional centre-left party, Labour occupies a similar place on the UK’s political spectrum to Scholz’s SPD in Germany.
Scholz said he knows Starmer personally and has met him several times, and stated that he would be a very successful prime minister.
The pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), the junior partner in Scholz’s three-way coalition, also expects a significant improvement in German-British relations under Keir Starmer, the party’s foreign policy spokesman Ulrich Lechte said on Thursday.
Lechte said he is convinced that more political objectivity would prevail in the UK under Labour.
He added that Labour’s election win offers a chance to renew and strengthen the European security architecture within NATO, calling the UK an important European troop contributor.
Lechte also mentioned that successful cooperation between Germany and the UK on defence could be further expanded under a Labour government.
Other German politicians were also quick to congratulate Labour, including European Parliament lawmaker Katarina Barley, the SPD’s top candidate in June’s European elections.
“I am pleased that, after years of tension, a Labour prime minister in London will now have the opportunity to strike a more friendly and constructive tone,” Barley told dpa.
Barley, who has a British father, added that after 14 years of Conservative government, including Brexit, the EU and the UK have become alienated from each other.
“A rapid re-entry of the UK into the EU remains very unlikely,” said Barley, while reaffirming 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.
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