Germany’s newly elected chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has vowed to pursue “independence” from the United States, citing concerns over Washington’s commitment to European security under President Donald Trump.
Merz’s centre-right alliance secured victory in the parliamentary elections but now faces challenging coalition talks, having ruled out collaboration with the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which finished second.
Speaking on Sunday, he emphasised that his “absolute priority” would be strengthening Europe’s defence to reduce reliance on the US.
“I never thought I would have to say something like that on a TV programme, but after Donald Trump’s latest comments in the last week, it is clear that the Americans, or at least this portion of the Americans, this government, care very little about the fate of Europe,” Merz said during a televised roundtable discussion with political leaders.
He warned that NATO’s future was uncertain, stating that he was unsure whether the alliance would remain in its “current form” by its next meeting in June or whether Europe would need to establish “an independent European defence capability much more quickly.”
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“That is my absolute priority, I have no illusions at all about what will come out of America,” Merz said.
He also criticised tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump and his cost-cutting tsar, for intervening in the election to support the AfD, which achieved its best-ever result in a national poll.
“The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and impertinent than the interventions we have seen from Moscow, so we are under massive pressure from two sides,” Merz said.
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