Berlin mayor slams Merkel over Obama stance

Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama sits on a stool on stage as he listens to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) (not pictured) speak as the two appeared at a ''Women for Obama'' campaign event in New York City, July 10, 2008.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin's mayor said on Thursday he would be pleased if U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke at the Brandenburg Gate and sharply criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel for opposing such an appearance.

Through a spokesman, the conservative Merkel made it clear on Wednesday that she would frown upon Democratic contender Obama using the capital's most famous landmark for "electioneering" on a visit expected this month.

Her stance has already been rejected by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a member of the rival Social Democrats (SPD), and he was joined on Thursday by party ally Klaus Wowereit, the popular Berlin mayor.

"I cannot understand the stance of Mrs. Merkel," said Wowereit, who has ultimate responsibility for approving events staged in Berlin.

"We should be happy if the potential American president wants to come to Berlin to hold a big speech," he told reporters in Berlin. "That is a compliment and a good sign for German-American friendship. We shouldn't lay obstacles in his path but welcome him."

The Obama campaign said last month that the Illinois senator planned to visit Germany, France, Britain and Jordan but no further details have been released.

Obama is hugely popular in Germany and could draw tens of thousands if he did speak at the Brandenburg Gate.

An opinion poll published on Sunday in the Bild newspaper found 72 percent of Germans would vote for him if they could.

Now a symbol of German unity after being trapped on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate is often used as a backdrop for concerts and was a large-screen TV viewing site for soccer fans during last month's Euro 2008 tournament.

Wowereit said Republican candidate John McCain was also welcome in Berlin.

Merkel is a strong advocate of good U.S. ties and has worked hard to mend relations that were badly damaged when her SPD predecessor Gerhard Schroeder clashed with Bush over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

She has avoided expressing any preference in the current U.S. race and her advisers say they could work well with either candidate. The leader of the SPD, Kurt Beck, broke a taboo last month by voicing a preference for Obama over McCain.

(Writing by Noah Barkin)