Why Friedrich Merz decided to risk Donald Trump’s wrath | Jörg Lau
The US president’s retribution will be painful for Germany and Nato, but it makes crystal clear just why Europe’s reliance on the US is untenableWhat began as a spat between...
By Jörg Lau · The Guardian Opinion
The US president’s retribution will be painful for Germany and Nato, but it makes crystal clear just why Europe’s reliance on the US is untenable What began as a spat between Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump over the Iran war is rapidly turning into a historic rupture between Germany and the US. Its significance is hard to overstate. In Germany, the transatlantic falling-out adds to the domestic woes of a coalition government in crisis, overshadowing the first anniversary of Merz’s becoming chancellor tomorrow. More importantly, it proves the futility of Merz’s attempt to be Europe’s Trump-whisperer and puts Nato’s credibility into question. But the dispute also boosts the ambition that Germany’s conservative leader set out on the night of his party’s election victory: to make Europe more independent from the US security umbrella. Jörg Lau is an international correspondent for the German weekly Die Zeit Continue reading...