Hours after exit polls showed the Christian Democratic Union had won Germany’s elections, party leader and chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said it should be Europe’s priority to “achieve independence” from the United States, and that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is “largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.” (Financial Times)
Our Take
Since Trump took office a little more than a month ago, Merz’s comments are some of the most definitive to come from a (soon-to-be) European leader in favor of shifting away from the trans-Atlantic alliance. The developments of the past two weeks in particular have stirred enormous debate about the extent to which Trump intends to abandon the close U.S. alliance with Europe.
Those debates are not settled, but Merz’s comments suggest that Trump’s intentions may not matter: If European leaders believe they are on their own now, they will act accordingly. The fact that the soon-to-be-leader of Europe’s largest economy—who also happens to be a longtime Atlanticist—said as much outright signals that is now the case. In fact, Merz even went a step further, suggesting that Europe may have to seek a replacement for NATO as its primary defensive alliance.