Germany fears a victory for the far-right National Rally could harm its close relations with France

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is worried about the outcome of the runoff elections in France.

Scholz, who is normally tightlipped when asked about domestic politics in other European countries, has in recent weeks more than once expressed concern that the far-right, nationalist National Rally may win a parliamentary majority in the second round of elections in neighboring France on Sunday, allowing the party to form a new government.

Earlier this week, the decidedly pro-European Scholz even revealed that he and beleaguered French President Emmanuel Macron are texting on a daily basis as the election draws closer.

“We are discussing the situation, which is really depressing," Scholz said at a summer gathering of his Social Democratic Party in Berlin on Tuesday, according to German news agency dpa.

“In any case, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the French, whom I love and appreciate so much, the country that means so much to me, will succeed in preventing a government led by a right-wing populist party," Scholz added in an unusually emotional way.

The German chancellor's concerns may be well-founded. If the French give the far-right nationalist party a majority on Sunday, German-French ties are likely to deteriorate, with effects felt across the European Union, experts say.

The specter of a far-right government in France comes after the European Parliament elections last month strengthened hard-right parties overall, though their performance varied from country to country. In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany also surged.

Several countries in the EU such as Italy, the Netherlands or Sweden have veered to the right in national elections as voters cast their ballots for euroskeptic parties promising nationalist solutions for European issues such as inflation, migration, and Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine that has brought in millions of refugees looking for shelter.

Germany and France, the EU's two biggest economies, have long been viewed as the engine of European integration. The two countries in the heart of Europe have overcome hundreds of years of wars and animosity and, after the end of World War II, built a close relationship..

Both countries are founding members of the European Union, which was created in large part to prevent a new war between Germany and France given their bellicose history.

Generations of high school students have participated in exchange programs, there are city partnerships, regular bilateral government consultations, joint arms projects, and, countless binational German-French families living in both countries.

However, the National Rally has pursued a “France First” policy. It wants to move away from the close partnership of France and Germany, experts say, which would be a turnaround from decades of close and celebrated friendship.

Even though the leaders of the two countries have had political differences in the past over topics such as how strongly to support Ukraine in defending itself against Russia, they have — until now — always tried to coordinate their positions on the EU and their foreign policy.

“German-French relations are actually unique in international politics in terms of their cooperation and intensity," says Ronja Kempin, an analyst of Franco-German relations at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

It comes therefore as no surprise that “in Berlin, people are now particularly nervous about the fact that the National Rally in France could represent a party with a large majority in parliament that is very critical of Germany, perhaps even hostile to Germany," she added.

Even though National Rally party leader Jordan Bardella said last month that if he becomes France's prime minister, he hopes "to have the occasion and the opportunity to talk with the German chancellor,” he has also stressed that he would defend his country's interests and sees Scholz as a political rival.

Germany, which is the EU's most populous country and has the continent's biggest economy, is often perceived by its European neighbors as overpowering and dominant in the 27-country bloc. Populist parties in particular have been using this sentiment to rile up voters.

If a future far-right French government were to join that choir of nationalists, it would have repercussions for all of the EU, says Jacob Ross, an expert on Franco-German relations at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

“Many EU projects could potentially be blocked,” he said adding that future cooperation on European financial and banking policies, European armaments projects, and everyday collaboration on the EU's administrative level could suffer.

The further expansion of the EU, which Scholz has been advocating, could also be in question, Ross said.

"The National Rally is certainly not a supporter of rapid EU expansion into the Western Balkans, and certainly not into Ukraine or Georgia,” he added.

Despite the potentially grim outlook, some European political veterans think that German-French relations are too strong to fail.

While being potentially forced to work with a far-right prime minister, French President Emmanuel Macron would still hold some powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense, in line with the Constitution. He has a presidential mandate until 2027, has said he won’t step down before the end of his term.

Martin Schulz, the former president of the European parliament and a member of Scholz's Social Democrats, says that the relationship is close that even a populist government cannot derail it.

“No French president can do without Germany and, conversely, no German chancellor can do without France,” Schulz told the weekly publication Der Spiegel on Thursday. “The two countries are too intertwined for that — economically, in terms of monetary policy, socially and culturally.”

“After all these decades of cooperation, no one can flip the switch from one day to the next and unwind this connection. The majority of people in France are also interested in a close relationship with Germany,” he added. “So: Franco-German relations will continue — the question is in what form.”

Sylvie Corbet contributed reporting from Paris.

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron walk through the garden of the German government guest house Meseberg Palace to the Franco-German Ministerial Council in Meseberg, north of Berlin, Germany, on May 28, 2024. The German government has expressed concern about a possible victory of the far-right National Rally in France. Chancellor Scholz and many ordinary Germans fears that if the the nationalist French party gets elected on Sunday, it would no longer support the close and unique relationship between the two countries that was carefully built over decades since the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, Pool)

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron sit at a table in the garden of the German government guest house in Meseberg, north of Berlin, Germany, on May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, Pool)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron, left, talks to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as they watch a skydiving demo during the G7 world leaders summit at Borgo Egnazia, Italy, on June 13, 2024. The German government has expressed concern about a possible victory of the far-right National Rally in France. Chancellor Scholz and many ordinary Germans fears that if the the nationalist French party gets elected on Sunday, it would no longer support the close and unique relationship between the two countries that was carefully built over decades since the end of World War II. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during a press conference at the German government guest house in Meseberg, north of Berlin, Germany, on May 28, 2024. The German government has expressed concern about a possible victory of the far-right National Rally in France. Chancellor Scholz and many ordinary Germans fears that if the the nationalist French party gets elected on Sunday, it would no longer support the close and unique relationship between the two countries that was carefully built over decades since the end of World War II.(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's government announced Monday it will abandon its plan to suspend the licenses of striking junior doctors as part of its efforts to convince them to return to work and resolve the country’s monthslong medical impasse.

It wasn’t immediately known whether the thousands of striking doctors would return to their hospitals after the announcement. The government's concession could also invite accusations of unfairness given its treatment of previous labor strikes and of doctors who have already returned to work.

Health Minister Cho KyooHong said the government has decided not to suspend the licenses of the strikers, who are medical interns and residents, regardless of whether they return to their hospitals or not. He said the government will also offer special measures to returnees to minimize the gap in their training and help them obtain specialist licenses in time.

“After painstaking deliberations, the government has reached this decision based on an assessment that minimizing the medical vacuum in the treatment of emergency and seriously ill patients and maintaining a training system to supply specialists at the right time will serve the public interest more than anything else,” Cho said.

More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents walked off their jobs in February to protest the government’s plan to sharply boost medical school admissions. The walkout has significantly burdened the operations of university hospitals where they were training and threatened to disrupt South Korea’s medical services.

Some senior doctors and professors at those teaching schools supported the walkout by holding rallies and temporarily walking off their jobs or reducing their working hours.

Officials have said they want to add up to 10,000 doctors by 2035 to cope with the country’s fast-aging population and a shortage of physicians in rural areas and in low-paying yet essential specialties like pediatrics and emergency departments.

Doctors say schools aren’t ready to handle such an abrupt increase in students and that it would ultimately undermine the country’s medical services. But critics argue that physicians, one of the best-paid jobs in South Korea, are mainly worried that having more doctors would lower their future incomes.

The striking doctors suffered a major legal setback after a Seoul court in May ruled in support of the government’s plan. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling in June.

The government later took steps to withdraw its plan to suspend the licenses of doctors who returned to their hospitals but didn’t do so for those who remained off the job. Only a small number of strikers have returned to work. As of last Friday, about 8% of the 13,756 medical interns and residents at about 210 teaching hospitals were working, according to government records.

Government officials earlier threatened to impose three-month license suspensions on striking doctors and even indictments by prosecutors for refusing back-to-work orders. President Yoon Suk Yeol — who has said illegal strikes should be dealt with in line with the law — also called the doctors’ walkout an “illegal collective action.”

The standoff created strife among doctors, with some harassing colleagues who opted not to join or continue the strike, according to local media reports.

Cho, the health minister, said the government was aware of possible criticism over the issue of fairness in its decision not to suspend the licenses of the striking doctors. He said patient groups and some medical officials have called for an early end of the walkout by the striking doctors.

Last month, the government finalized a plan to increase next year's medical school enrollment by about 1,500, down from its earlier push for a 2,000-student increase. The current medical student enrollment cap has been unchanged at 3,058 since 2006, with doctors blocking previous government attempts to raise it with vehement protests.

South Korean Health and Welfare Minister Cho KyooHong speaks during a briefing at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 8, 2024. (Choi Jae-goo/Yonhap via AP)

South Korean Health and Welfare Minister Cho KyooHong speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 8, 2024. South Korea says it’ll withdraw its earlier plan to suspend licenses of striking doctors to resolve the country's long medical impasse.(Choi Jae-goo/Yonhap via AP)