Germany’s mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won the country’s national election, ensuring Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the EU’s largest country and creating hopes for renewal in an economicpowerhouse that has been badly battered in recent years.
Merz, who is promising to unite Europe in the face of challenges from both Russia and the US, is expected to become the country’s next leader. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said. He, however, vowed to do everything in his power to continue a good transatlantic relationship with the US, even if the Trump administration appears to have waning interest in Europe.
“If those who really do not just make ‘America First,’ but almost ‘America Alone’ their motto prevail, then it will be difficult,” he told reporters on Monday in his first post-election news conference. “But I remain hopeful that we will succeed in maintaining the transatlantic relationship.” He warned if the good relationship “is destroyed, it will not only be to the detriment of Europe, but also to the detriment of America.”
‘5 Mins To Midnight For EU’
Referring to a Nato summit scheduled for June, Merz said he was curious to see “whether we will still be talking about Nato in its current form then or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly”. “This really is five minutes to midnight for Europe,” he said.
Coalition Talks With Scholz
Merz said he wants to immediately begin negotiations with centre-left Social Democrats, who suffered a stinging defeat after their coalition collapsed.
Merz said on election night he hopes to form a govt by Easter at the latest. For the time being, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz will stay on as head of a caretaker govt.
Calls For Unison To End AfD
He ruled out a coalition with AfD said he was “extremely worried” about the far-right party’s historic gains. “We’ve to work together to gradually remove the breeding ground for this party,” he said.agencies