Australia at G20 Summit: Scott Morrison backs May’s Brexit push and Angela Merkel’s embarrassing blow
German Chancellor Angela Merkel might be a G20 veteran, but it appears she needed a cheat sheet before meeting with Scott Morrison.
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Scott Morrison is the third Australian leader to attend a G20 summit since 2014, so you can hardly blame his foreign counterparts for being confused.
In an embarrassing blow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was caught reading a briefing note on Mr Morrison who was attending his first G20 conference since taking over the top job 100 days ago.
Seated next to Mr Morrison, the German Chancellor flicked through the notes revealing a headshot of Mr Morrison so she didn’t confuse him with another leader.
Of all the 20 leaders attending the summit, Mr Morrison has been in the job for the shortest period of time after he became Australia’s 30th Prime Minister in August.
Chancellor Merkel, a G20 veteran, may have needed a cheat sheet to remember the names and faces of other leaders attending their first summit including South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
MORRISON BACKS MAY’S BREXIT EFFORTS
British Prime Minister Theresa May might be losing support in the United Kingdom, but she has found a friend in Scott Morrison who has backed her lasted EU divorce push.
The two leaders met on the second day of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires ahead of a make-or-break trade meeting between China and the US held in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mrs May comes to the global summit under immense political pressure triggered by her draft Brexit deal, which will be voted on in less than a fortnight.
The agreement has been criticised by pro-Brexit and pro-EU British politicians — including members of own Conservative Party — who plan to vote against it.
“Can I commend you, with a very tough set of issues to deal with in the United Kingdom,” Mr Morrison said. “I think you are showing great resilience and great determination to resolve what has been one of the most vexed issues I think there is.”
The Prime Minister said Mrs May had handled criticism of her unpopular deal “in typical British fashion”.
“You and your colleagues have our strong support to continue to bring this to a good resolution,” he said.
During the summit of global superpowers, Australia and Britain have teamed to try and bring to an end the protracted trade war between the US and China. Mrs May thanked Australia for it’s advocacy on finding a resolution amid concerns the ongoing trade dispute will damage global markets.
President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping will meet in Buenos Aires on Saturday night in what is anticipated to be one of the most important meeting between the United States and China in generations.
Originally published as Australia at G20 Summit: Scott Morrison backs May’s Brexit push and Angela Merkel’s embarrassing blow
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