While US President Donald Trump takes the credit for Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz’s victory in the German election, the centre-right leader is more interested in distancing himself from the American hegemonyread more

Conservative politician
Friedrich Merz, who is poised to become the next Chancellor of Germany warned that Nato could soon be dead and urged Europe to build an alliance “independent” from the United States. In a provocative remark on Sunday, the 69-year-old leader of the centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), suggested that the continent may have to “quickly” establish an “independent European defence capability”.

Soon after the
results of the German elections started pouring in hinting at Merz’s party winning the race, US President Donald Trump hailed the result. The American leaders declared that it was a “great day for Germany and the United States of America”. However, Merz on the other hand was more interested in distancing himself from Trump.

The Conservative politician insisted that Trump is “indifferent” about the continent in blunt remarks about his plans for his upcoming administration. The CDU leader went ahead to liken the Trump administration’s tactics to that of Moscow after ‘First Buddy’
Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance expressed their support for the far-Right AfD in the German election.

“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can achieve independence from the USA,” Merz said on Sunday. “I am very curious to see how we are heading towards the Nato summit at the end of June … whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly,” he added.

Merz makes his stance clear

The task in hand for Merz is now to form a
coalition government, but mainstream parties had already vowed to not team up with the AfD. However, Merz’s recent remarks marked the strongest rebuttal to Trump, made by any head of government. “I have absolutely no illusions about what is happening from America,” Mr Merz said 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,” he added. The German politician emphasised that the continent is facing pressure from two sides and its “absolute priority” now should be to stay united.

“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 furthered.

During the debate, Merz maintained that if he came to power, he would ask for the protection of British and French nuclear weapons if the US president withdrew US protection from Europe and undermined Nato.

Meanwhile, Trump takes credit for his win

Trump on the other hand seemed to live in the world illusion as he congratulated Merz and said that his win was good for Germany-US ties. Not only this, he somehow managed to take the credit of CDU’s win, while his key allies were rallying behind AfD.

In a post on social media — written entirely in capital letters — Trump did not mention either Merz or his party by name, referring to “THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY IN GERMANY,” but argued that the country’s swing to the right was part of a political shift that both US and German shared.

“MUCH LIKE THE USA, THE PEOPLE OF GERMANY GOT TIRED OF THE NO COMMON SENSE AGENDA, ESPECIALLY ON ENERGY AND IMMIGRATION, THAT HAS PREVAILED FOR SO MANY YEARS,” Trump wrote in the post on Sunday. “THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR GERMANY, AND FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF A GENTLEMAN NAMED DONALD J. TRUMP. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL — MANY MORE VICTORIES TO FOLLOW!!!” he added. This indicates that while Trump is willing to mellow down his aggression towards Europe for Merz, the next German Chancellor would be focusing more on maintaining Europe’s independence from Washington.

With inputs from agencies.