Scholz Targets Turnaround After Stumbling Start as German Leader
The G-7 summit in the Bavarian Alps offers the chancellor a prime opportunity to counter critics who see him as out of his depth.
Olaf Scholz at the European Council building in Brussels on June 24.
Photographer: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
During a high-profile visit to Kyiv, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed the press only after counterparts from France, Italy and Romania, and for a group photo, he was positioned on the fringe despite providing more aid to Ukraine than the other countries combined.
The optics in Kyiv weren’t isolated but reflect how Scholz is still struggling to find his place on the international stage after succeeding Angela Merkel in December. As host to a three-day summit of Group of Seven leaders that begins on Sunday, he gets a prime opportunity to start changing that.