Future German Chancellor Makes First Statement On The U.S. And Trump
21- 24.02.2025, 12:05
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PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Friedrich Merz promised to give Europe "real independence."
Friedrich Merz, who will become Chancellor of Germany, has promised to help Europe gain “real independence” from the United States.
However, according to Reuters, Merz will have to conduct complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party took a historic second place in the elections to achieve this goal.
The publication stressed that Merz will be the chancellor at a time when Europe's largest economy is in serious condition, its society is divided over the issue of migration, and security depends on the United States and the Russian Federation.
“We are under such tremendous pressure from both sides that my absolute priority now is to achieve unity in Europe. It is possible to create unity in Europe," he said.
Still considered an Atlanticist, Merz said Trump has shown that his administration is “mostly indifferent to the fate of Europe.”
“The absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as soon as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the United States step by step,” he added.
What is known about Friedrich Merz
A longtime rival of Angela Merkel, who took a more centrist stance, the right-wing Merz led the CDU in January 2022, and in September last year was nominated as a candidate for chancellor.
Seeking to steer the party in a more conservative direction, he made curbing illegal migration a central issue of his policy.
Merz studied law and initially worked as a lawyer. Having joined the CDU at school, he always aspired to politics and was elected to the European Parliament in 1989. He then switched to the domestic political arena, becoming a member of the German parliament in 1994.
Moving up the party ladder over the next few years, Merz was eventually sidelined in the party after a power struggle with Angela Merkel. He decided to retire from politics and spent several years in senior positions in the private sector, for example, at BlackRock Germany and HSBC Trinkhaus & Burkhardt, and also served on the boards of directors of EY Germany and Borussia Dortmund football club.
His return to parliament more than a decade later was marked by attempts to shift the CDU to a socially conservative side close to business interests.
Merz made a splash in January when he pushed a non-binding proposal through parliament aimed at tightening immigration rules such as border controls and stepping up deportations, despite criticism that it could violate both German and European asylum laws.
He seems potentially ready to enter politically risky territory. When Merz abandoned his position of not working with Alternative für Deutschland and violated the so-called “firewall” against the party, he was widely criticized. He later ruled out any future collaboration with the far right.
The German economy is currently in dire straits, and Merz often criticizes the economic policies pursued by the Scholz government, blaming it for the downturn. He is a supporter of reducing social benefits and reducing the number of civil servants. He is also in favor of lowering taxes, which will lead to a reduction in state revenues, and at the same time he is not against the reduction of state subsidies.
On the foreign policy front, Friedrich Merz was assertive during the Munich Security Conference last week, saying that Germany should play a greater leadership role in the EU, as well as pledging support for Ukraine and supporting its accession to NATO.
Mertz is married and has three children. A lover of aviation, he, according to some reports, owns two airplanes, on which he flies in his free time from politics.
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