German election victor Merz plans pivot from US as coalition talks loom
Friedrich Merz, who is set to be Germany’s new chancellor following the victory of his conservative opposition in the national elections on Sunday, has pledged to give Europe “real autonomy” from the U.S., as he prepares to form a government.
Merz, aged 69, is facing complex and long coalition negotiations following the historic surge of the far-right Alternative for Germany in a fractured election after the collapsed of the unloved trio led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Mainstream parties do not want to work with AfD, which has been endorsed by prominent U.S. figures such as Elon Musk the tech billionaire who is an ally of Donald Trump.
Merz has never held a position of responsibility before. The largest economy in Europe is struggling, the society is divided over immigration, and security is caught between an aggressive U.S., a assertive Russia, and shaky China.
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Merz made a series of blunt comments after his win, criticizing the “ultimately absurd” remarks that Washington had made during the campaign and comparing them with hostile Russian interventions.
“We are now under so much pressure from both sides, that my number one priority is to bring unity to Europe. “It is possible to achieve unity in Europe,” said he at a roundtable discussion with other leaders.
Merz’s attack on the U.S. was delivered despite the fact that President Donald Trump welcomed the results of the elections.
Trump wrote in Truth Social that “Much as the USA, people of Germany got sick of the lack of common sense agenda, particularly on immigration and energy, which has been prevalent for so many decades.”
Merz, who was previously viewed as an atlanticist by Trump, said that his administration had “largely been indifferent to Europe’s fate”.
Merz said that his “absolute prioritiy will be to strengthen Europe quickly so we can achieve real autonomy from the USA in small steps.”
He asked if the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which has been the cornerstone of Europe’s security since decades, will still exist in “its current form” at the next summit.
According to a ZDF projection, published late Sunday, following a campaign marred by violent attacks in which migrants were arrested, the CDU/CSU won 28,5% of the votes, followed by AfD at 20.5%.
The AfD saw the Sunday result as just a start. It is expected to double its previous score.
Alice Weidel, the leader of the party, told her supporters that “next time” they would be first.
Merz enters coalition talks with a weak negotiating hand. Although his CDU/CSU emerged the largest bloc, they scored their second worst result since World War II.
The fate of smaller parties is unclear, which could cause a mess in the parliamentary math.
A three-way alliance would be more difficult to manage and hinder Germany’s ability show leadership.
According to ZDF projections, Scholz conceded a “bitter result” and the Social Democrats (SPD), who were at 16.5%, had their worst performance since World War Two. The Greens, on the other hand, were at 11.8%.
Die Linke, a far-left party, received 8.7% of votes thanks to a strong support from young voters.
Free Democrats (FDP), a pro-market party, and the newcomer Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance remained around 5% of the threshold for entering parliament.
Carsten Brzeski is global head of macro for the banking group ING. He said that a three-party alliance could lead to more muddle and stagnation unless the parties realise this is their last chance to make a change and prevent the AfD becoming stronger.
Foreign investments will be held back as long as there is no significant change in the new government, thereby reducing Germany’s outlook.
Exit polls show that the voter turnout was at 83%, which is the highest level since 1990 before reunification. Exit polls showed that male voters were more inclined to the right while female voters tended to be more leftist.
CARETAKER SCHOLS
Merz, a brash liberal economist who has shifted conservatives rightward, is seen as the opposite of former conservative German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel led Germany for 16 long years.
Merz supports the provision of longer-range Taurus rockets to Ukraine, something Scholz’s Government resisted. He also sees Europe as being firmly anchored within NATO.
The election on Sunday came after Scholz’s coalition, which included his SPD and the Greens with the pro-market FDP, collapsed in November over a budget dispute.
Scholz could be left in a caretaker position for several months due to lengthy coalition talks. This would delay urgently needed policy measures that are required to revive the German Economy after two consecutive years with contraction, and at a time when companies are struggling against global competitors.
Delay would also create a leadership void in the heartland of Europe, even while it is dealing with a number of challenges like Trump threatening to wage a trade-war and trying to speed up a ceasefire agreement for Ukraine without European participation.
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