BERLIN, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Speaking during her closely-watched annual "summer press conference", German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a plea for more civility in political debate on Friday.
Merkel said that she had noted the "harsh tones" in cabinet infighting between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) over asylum policy with concern.
"I attach very, very big importance to language," the veteran stateswoman told journalists.
According to Merkel, policymakers and media organizations both had a responsibility to treat facts with care.
"I think that it is very important that all sides, politicians and journalists, seriously engage with questions surrounding their responsibility for correct reporting," she said.
Worrying changes in political culture were currently underway more generally. Merkel vowed to make an effort to ensure that she would always "choose language carefully", be "precise" and state "correct facts".
Merkel lamented that the recent escalation of a cabinet conflict over the treatment of refugees at the German border was an example for excessively hostile communication which had contributed to the disenchantment of the country's citizens with democratic politics.
Before a last-minute compromise was found to resolve the issue, interior minister and CSU leader Horst Seehofer threatened to resign, and hence potentially trigger a collapse of the government, unless Merkel backed his controversial "migration master plan".
In light of the unusual display of ministerial disobedience by Seehofer, Merkel announced that she would place an emphasis on preventing a "further erosion of language" in legislative debates in Germany.
She highlighted that a joint European asylum regime, as opposed to Seehofer's unilateral vision, was something worth fighting for.
Such a continental system, in which members demonstrated solidarity by sharing burdens and responsibilities evenly, was and would remain a "central tenet" of her personal politics, she said.
Merkel consequently welcomed the formation of a new "union of the middle" grouping in the CDU which supports the moderate center-right stance adopted by the chancellor on migration and other policy issues. Rather than showcasing a fracturing of her catch-all party, she argued that the establishment of the group was a "sign of vitality".
Aside from her comments on cabinet infighting and political culture in Germany and the wider world, Merkel also addressed Trump's announcement to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington and the swelling conflicts between the U.S. and the EU over trade.
The chancellor expressed her support for a Trump-Putin summit on American soil, arguing that such meetings should become "normality" again. "Whenever talks are held, it is principally good for all parties involved. Especially, when talks are held between these two countries," she said.
Similarly, Merkel said that the EU would continue to seek to initiate a "discussion process" in order to stem the tide of growing U.S. protectionism.
While the EU stood ready to retaliate against tariffs if all else failed, such an outcome amount to a "far worse solution" than finding common ground between Brussels and Washington, she added.
