Germany’s Merkel, S.African president meet before World Cup match

Germany’s Merkel, S.African president meet

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma before heading to the stadium to watch her country’s World Cup team take on Argentina in a quarterfinal.

Also Saturday, Merkel and Helen Zille of South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, toured a community development program in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township. Zille is premier of South Africa’s Western Cape province, which includes Cape Town.

A German taxpayer lobby group had questioned Merkel’s decision to attend the match in Cape Town, given her government is implementing an austerity plan. But government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm has said it is important for foreign leaders to acknowledge the significance of Africa’s first World Cup.