Friedrich Merz, whose CDU party won the German elections and is almost certain to become the next German Chancellor, promised in his victory speech to move quickly to \u201cunite Europe\u201d and \u201cachieve independence\u201d from the United States.<\/p>\n
Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU\/CSU) won 28.5% of the vote on Sunday, needing at least one coalition partner to secure a parliamentary majority. Germany\u2019s right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) doubled its vote share to 21%, its highest ever, and came second, while the Free Democrats (FDP) and the new left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) failed to secure enough votes to enter the Bundestag, raising the prospect of a CDU-SPD coalition.<\/p>\n
However, the strong performances of the AfD and the left-wing Die Linke (Left Party) risk limiting Merz\u2019s room for maneuver to increase investments, including expanding the defense budget.<\/p>\n
A few hours after the polls closed, Merz declared that Germany must fundamentally reform its security arrangements and end its decades-long dependence on Washington. He said that US President Donald Trump was \u201clargely indifferent\u201d to Europe\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am in close contact with the EU heads of government, with many prime ministers. It must be an absolute priority to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step we can achieve our independence from the US,\u201d Merz said.<\/p>\n
While Merz argued that it was clear that \u201cat least this American government\u201d was \u201clargely indifferent\u201d to the fate of Europe, he said he was keen to form a government \u201cas soon as possible\u201d given the huge challenges facing Germany and Europe, adding that \u201cthe world will not wait for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merz, who is on track to become Germany\u2019s new leader, said the Trump administration does not care about Europe and has aligned itself with Russia. Merz warned that the continent urgently needs to strengthen its defenses and even find a replacement for NATO within months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very curious to see how we move towards the NATO summit at the end of June. Will we still be talking about NATO in its current form, or will we have to build an independent European defense capability much more quickly?\u201d Merz asked.<\/p>\n
German elections pave the way for a potential CDU-SPD grand coalition<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n