Political buddies

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and US President Bill Clinton share a joke on the way to Frankfurt on the US presidential aircraft Air Force One in 1998. Would a photo of the current US president, Donald Trump, with the current German chancellor, Angela Merkel, be this cheerful? Probably not. Helmut Kohl and Bill Clinton really were genuine friends.

True friendship is often most apparent in moments of existential significance. At the funeral for the former chancellor, who died on 16 June, 2017, it was clear that Helmut Kohl and Bill Clinton did indeed have such a friendship. Clinton not only attended, but also appeared upset — more so, in fact, than the current chancellor, Angela Merkel, seen here consoling him .

We could compile a gallery entirely with photos of Helmut Kohl and friends, as Kohl maintained close relationships with many heads of state and government. Instead, we will end the Kohl section with what may be the best-known photo of a friendship between statesmen: Kohl and French President Francois Mitterand commemorating those who died on both sides in the two World Wars.

Gerhard Schröder, Kohl’s successor as chancellor, also cultivated — and still cultivates — friendships with powerful world leaders. Schröder, however, was more inclined to look eastwards. He is good friends with the current Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Both enjoy a fairly casual approach to fashion. This picture shows the two men at Putin’s summer residence on the Black Sea in 2004.

Their meeting was meant to address issues such as rapprochement between Russia and the EU. In photos of the two leaders walking on the beach, they could hardly appear any closer. Two men, a dog, a beach, a sunset — images we’re more used to associating with an enjoyable family holiday. In 2004, Schröder described Putin as a "flawless democrat," a comment for which he is still criticized today.

It may look like more, but this kiss is merely an expression of friendship. On 5 October, 1979, Erich Honecker (r.), the leader of East Germany, and Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, gave each other the so-called "kiss of friendship" — or "fraternal kiss" — to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of East Germany.

An unexpected friendship began more than 20 years earlier. The first chancellor of post-war Germany, Konrad Adenauer (r.), and the French President Charles de Gaulle met for the first time in 1958. To the surprise of many, the two of them were soon able to establish a strong relationship. This photo shows them in Bonn in 1962; in the background, people are demonstrating their support for Europe.

Who’s this man getting a warm hug from Horst Seehofer? Seehofer, now Germany’s interior minister, was still the Bavarian premier at the time (2016) — and the man he’s embracing is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. They seem much closer to each other than either is to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Seehofer's supposed ally. But can he and Orban be described as friends? Probably not.

US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have a pretty good relationship. This is partly thanks to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who Trump tends to rely on in matters of Middle East politics.The New York Times says Netanyahu is friends with Kushner’s father and that once when Netanyahu visited, he slept in Kushner’s room while Kushner moved to the basement.

"Little Rocket Man" and the "mentally deranged US dotard" praised each other to the skies after their meeting on 12 June, 2018. Shortly before this, Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump were still waging a war of words, yet their talks and subsequent statements seemed amazingly harmonious. The two certainly have one thing in common: unpredictability. A friendship may well develop further down the line.