Obama Stays Out of GM's Opel Decision

Even if German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would personally intervene to support Magna in the negotiations with General Motors, US President Barack Obama says he won't get involved in the talks and leave General Motors pick a new Opel owner on its own. General Motors stepped out of bankruptcy protection in July and the US government now holds a 60 percent stake in the newly-formed entity.

But the White House doesn't plan to influence General Motors on picking a buyer for Opel, White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"The president's view is that decisions made on the day-to-day operations of General Motors should be made by the folks at General Motors. He never wanted to get into the auto business and he's happy for them to make their decisions and get back on their feet," Burton said on Monday in Oak Bluffs.

Speaking last week to the UK media, UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said General Motors should leave political aspects aside and pick the one the company considers better to own Opel.

"The U.K. Government has asked the GM board to take full account of the relevant interests in all European countries as this will shape the public funding decisions by all the member states and state aid approval by the European Commission," he said in a statement.

GM's board met last Friday and, even if most German officials expected the American manufacturer to announce a decision regarding Opel, the company once again delayed the sale. This angered Juergen Ruettgers, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, who called the US to intervene in the talks and help GM make a decision.

"The United States government now shares responsibility for finding a way past GM's leadership weakness and helping us finally to reach a sustainable decision," he was quoted as saying by Autonews.