Germany’s, Friedrich Merz, has called for greater independence from the United States while casting doubt on the future of NATO. In his first speech following his party’s victory in the German elections, the conservative CDU leader also took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump, criticizing the administration's stance on Europe.  

 

Merz, who will begin coalition negotiations on Monday, spoke candidly about his vision for a more autonomous Europe, expressing frustration with Washington's involvement in the German election campaign. "For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve real independence from the USA step by step," he declared on Sunday. He likened U.S. interference in German politics to external pressures from Russia, calling it "ultimately outrageous."  

 

His remarks come in response to statements made by Trump, whose "America First" policies have raised concerns across Europe about the stability of transatlantic relations. "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 said.  

 

The conservative leader also questioned NATO’s long-term viability as Europe grapples with shifting geopolitical dynamics. “I am very curious to see how we are heading toward 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 defense capability much more quickly," he stated.  

 

Merz’s rise to power comes at a challenging time for Germany, with its economy struggling, social tensions over migration intensifying, and security concerns growing amid increasing friction between the U.S., Russia, and China. The 69-year-old, who has never held public office, now faces the difficult task of forming a stable government in a fractured political landscape.  

 

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surged to a historic second-place finish with 20.8% of the vote, while Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc secured 28.6%, making them the largest party but without an outright majority. The election also saw the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition, leaving Germany’s political future uncertain.  

 

Despite the AfD’s strong showing, mainstream parties refuse to collaborate with the party, which is under surveillance by German security services due to suspected extremism. The AfD has, however, gained endorsements from figures such as U.S. billionaire Elon Musk. As a result, Merz is likely to seek an alliance with Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), though negotiations are expected to be prolonged and contentious.  

 

Unlike previous coalition-building efforts, Merz will not need support from the Greens to secure a majority. The newly formed BSW party, led by former Left Party leader Sahra Wagenknecht, fell just short of the 5% threshold required to enter the Bundestag, slightly simplifying the CDU leader’s path to forming a government.  

 

As Germany stands at a political crossroads, Merz's calls for European self-reliance signal a potential shift in Germany’s foreign policy. His stance on NATO and relations with Washington will likely shape the country's role on the global stage for years to come.

 

Based on a report by The Independent  2025-02-25

 

 

Works for me. 

A pragmatic response to Trump undermining the NATO alliance.

 

 

It's great to see now at least some politicians tell Trump the truth. It seems every day there are more of them.

 

Another one:

 

26 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It's great to see now at least some politicians tell Trump the truth. It seems every day there are more of them.

 

Another one:

 

Macron rolled right over Trump.

 

‘Compensation, not by Ukraine, by Russia, the aggressor’.

 

Perfect.

 

And moreover directly challenging Trump’s parroting of Russian demands.

 

 

 

 

 

27 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

A pragmatic response to Trump undermining the NATO alliance.

 

NATO will be stronger than ever.  Especially once the cheaters start paying what they agreed to invest in our collective defense.

 

As a millionaire and far more intelligent (that's easy) than Trump he will find the right words and will meet almost at eye level.

However, with 1.98 m Merz will look down on Trump ❤️

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

NATO will be stronger than ever.  Especially once the cheaters start paying what they agreed to invest in our collective defense.

 

Negating the Russian asset will improve matters.

Cheaters?

 

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/nato-article-5-and-911#:~:text=NATO's Article 5 has been,president to complain about NATO.

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Cheaters?

 

If you agreed to spend 2%, and over 10 years later you only spend 1.5%, what do you call it?

 

32 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

A pragmatic response to Trump undermining the NATO alliance.

 

 

Actually undermining the NATO alliance is the fault of the European members themselves especially the Germans who did not listen to Trump the first time when he told them they were not making the contributions and were relying on the US taxpayer to cover the shortfall.

 

Add to that their unrelenting arrogance that the EUSSR could provoke Putin by expanding all the way to the Russian border and not expecting him to push back especially the regions that are considered to be predominantly Russian by heritage.

 

There really are some clueless individuals on this forum

Without a doubt Merz is the smartest politician German has had in the last 20 years. However, he is firmly in the pocket of Israel, so same old same old. 

 

Not the bold and fearless original thinker Trump is. Yet clearly better than the Linke or SPD.

36 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

NATO will be stronger than ever.  Especially once the cheaters start paying what they agreed to invest in our collective defense.

 

How can NATO be stronger than ever without Uncle Sam🥴

24 minutes ago, HK MacPhooey said:

There really are some clueless individuals on this forum

 

This is true, as evidenced by the following witless and ignorant statement

 

25 minutes ago, HK MacPhooey said:

Add to that their unrelenting arrogance that the EUSSR could provoke Putin by expanding all the way to the Russian border and not expecting him to push back especially the regions that are considered to be predominantly Russian by heritage.

 

 

Good idea.  Send all the US. soldiers home who protect your A and figure things out yourself.

56 minutes ago, HK MacPhooey said:

Actually undermining the NATO alliance is the fault of the European members themselves especially the Germans who did not listen to Trump the first time when he told them they were not making the contributions and were relying on the US taxpayer to cover the shortfall.

 

Add to that their unrelenting arrogance that the EUSSR could provoke Putin by expanding all the way to the Russian border and not expecting him to push back especially the regions that are considered to be predominantly Russian by heritage.

 

There really are some clueless individuals on this forum

You said it yourself.

 

All the way to the Russian border.

 

Not actually invading across that border as Putin did.

 

‘EUSSR’ was a boy of a tell, you should work on that.

19 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Good idea.  Send all the US. soldiers home who protect your A and figure things out yourself.

Except the U.S. is the only nation to have ever invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter.

 

Europe answered the call.

Bring back Deutschland Uber Alles.

It seems like people are finally starting to rise up against the absolute nonsense and insanity of this new Trump regime. They are just saying no to the "wannabe king" and exercising a bit of common sense in regard to geopolitics. 

 

Hopefully this trend will continue and it will soon include a significant percentage of the people who voted for Trump. They are now just beginning to realize just who they voted for, and what he is and wants to be. 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

A pragmatic response to Trump undermining the NATO alliance.

 

 

NATO had no purpose since 1992

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

It seems like people are finally starting to rise up against the absolute nonsense and insanity of this new Trump regime. They are just saying no to the "wannabe king" and exercising a bit of common sense in regard to geopolitics. 

 

Hopefully this trend will continue and it will soon include a significant percentage of the people who voted for Trump. They are now just beginning to realize just who they voted for, and what he is and wants to be. 

 

 

 

 

 

You lie, as always.

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Bring back Deutschland Uber Alles.

From the guy who’s always tossing the Nazi slur.

1 hour ago, frank83628 said:

NATO had no purpose since 1992

It absolutely had a purpose in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11attack on the U.S. when all other NATO members responded with support to the U.S. invoking article 5 of the NATO charter.

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

From the guy who’s always tossing the Nazi slur.

There werent a lot of National Socialists in 1922 when the Deutschlandlied was written, in Democratic Weimer.

 

The National Socialists had the Horst Wessel song.

5 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It absolutely had a purpose in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11attack on the U.S. when all other NATO members responded with support to the U.S. invoking article 5 of the NATO charter.

 

 

 

 

As well they should have, they have sucked off of us enough. 

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Macron rolled right over Trump.

 

‘Compensation, not by Ukraine, by Russia, the aggressor’.

 

Perfect.

 

And moreover directly challenging Trump’s parroting of Russian demands.

 

A real politician vs a real estate agent masquerading as a politician.

22 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It absolutely had a purpose in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11attack on the U.S. when all other NATO members responded with support to the U.S. invoking article 5 of the NATO charter.

 

 

 

 

What, then invaded Iraq illegally? Are you for real

Iraq had nothing to do with 911

4 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

What, then invaded Iraq illegally? Are you for real

Iraq had nothing to do with 911

Who said anything about Iraq?

 

Or was that you building a strawman.

 

You clearly do a problem recalling history. I recommend you revisit the response to the U.S. invoking Article 5.

I guess he will close down those non-European military bases eventually. How much income will that lose I wonder?

Unfortunately, I agree with him... 

32 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Who said anything about Iraq?

 

Or was that you building a strawman.

 

You clearly do a problem recalling history. I recommend you revisit the response to the U.S. invoking Article 5.

 NATO had no purpose since 92, then the us used article 5 to drag everyone into their illegal war with Iraq after 9/11.