Next Monday, senior politicians from France and Germany will no doubt be looking nervous as they set sail on an awayday from the port of Hamburg to improve international relations. During the trip, members of Emmanuel Macron’s and Olaf Scholz’s teams will be expected to chat, drink, listen to talks about artificial intelligence (the on-trend topic for any corporate awayday), and then return to the city to visit a fish market. The German and French teams are hoping this trip will help to overcome increasing political tensions between the two countries over issues such as defence, energy and the future of the European economy. But it remains to be seen whether team-building on the Elbe will pay dividends.
This trip down the river appears to be a fat-free version of diplomatic bonding when compared to other historical meetings. When the English, Russians and Americans met in Yalta to settle the territorial conflicts that were expected to follow the impending end of the second world war, things were less civilised. Politicians bonded over long boozy dinners, queues to use the bathroom and beds festooned with lice. During another earlier meeting between Russian and British representatives, in the middle of a dinner party Stalin called for a machine gun, which a drunk British representative then began waving around. Luckily, another member of the British team had the foresight to check the magazine was empty of ammunition.
