BERLIN — Friedrich Merz did not even wait for the final results in Germany’s election before delivering what could well be a defining verdict on U.S. President Donald Trump, consigning Europe’s 80-year alliance with the United States to the past.
The Trump administration does not care about Europe and is aligning with Russia, said Merz, who is on course to become Germany’s new leader. The continent, he warned, must urgently strengthen its defenses and potentially even find a replacement for NATO — within months.
Merz’s comments mark a historic watershed: They reveal how deeply Trump has shaken the political foundations of Europe, which has depended on American security guarantees since 1945.
If he follows through on his rhetoric after assembling a new government in the coming weeks, Merz will steer Europe in a radical new direction at a critical time for the security of Ukraine and the wider region.
“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.,” Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting said. “I never thought I would have to say something like this on a television program. But after Donald Trump’s statements last week at the latest, it is clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”
Merz, a staunch Atlanticist who has spent much of his professional career as a lawyer working with and for American firms, didn’t stop there. Later this year, a NATO summit will be held — but he suggested Europe may need to devise a new defense structure to replace it.
“I am very curious to see how we are heading towards the NATO summit at the end of June,” he said. “Whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defense capability much more quickly.”
Europe, alone
Such extraordinary statements from the likely next leader of Europe’s biggest economy are the strongest any head of government has made in response to the U.S. president’s 10 day onslaught against Europe and Ukraine.
On Friday, Merz suggested it was time to explore nuclear cooperation between France, the U.K. and Germany (and others) to replace the American nuclear umbrella that has guaranteed European safety from Russian attack. His speculation was anything but idle.
Merz’s conservative alliance is projected to win the most seats in the Bundestag but will need to stitch together a coalition with at least one other center-left party over the coming weeks.
But he has clearly decided already that he needs to take up the mantle of European leadership, which Germany has been unable to provide in recent months due largely to the election campaign and the political crisis that preceded it.
Europe has also suffered from weakened leadership in France, where President Emmanuel Macron has been battling to keep any form of government together after his snap election gambit last year backfired.
Meanwhile, Trump has used his first month back in the White House to destroy the historic bonds between Europe and America that date back to the end of World War II.
In a series of highly critical interventions, Trump and his team branded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator”, unilaterally opened unconditional “peace” talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and put the region on notice that American troops may not stick around in Europe for much longer.
Another Russia
Merz even went as far as to liken the Trump administrations recent tactics to those of Russia. He was especially critical of tech billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk for endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the German election.
“I have absolutely no illusions about what is happening from America,” Merz said during a televised debate on Sunday night. “Just look at the recent interventions in the German election campaign by Mr Elon Musk — that is a unique event. The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow. We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my absolute priority now really is to create unity in Europe.”
Merz said he had some “residual” hope that the U.S. Congress and the White House would not completely cut Ukraine out of any peace negotiations, though he did not sound optimistic. “I am not sure what the American government’s position on this war will be in the coming weeks and months. My impression over the last few days is that Russia and America are coming together here, over the heads of Ukraine and therefore also over the heads of Europe,” he said.
His first task would be to put together a stable governing coalition, fast. “Everyone is now looking at Germany. How quickly will the Germans be able to form a government after this complicated election result? And that really is my first priority here.”
Earlier, Trump appeared to offer something of an opening to Merz, in a characteristically bizarre manner. The president congratulated the election winners, without naming Merz, and also claimed the conservative victory was part of his own success, somehow.
But it seems that Germany’s next leader has made up his own mind about the new American president, regardless.
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