Merz wants Europe independent of US after German election win
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Monday 24 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - Germany's conservative CDU/CSU opposition emerged as the main party in Sunday's general election with leader Friedrich Merz hoping to form a two-party coalition and warning that Europe would have to become more independent in the face of US "indifference".
The CDU/CSU won 28.5% of the vote, giving it 208 seats in Germany's Bundestag, or parliament, but not enough for an outright majority. The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) - some of whose members have been labelled as far-right extremists by domestic security services - surged to 20.8%, winning 152 seats.
Merz issued a blunt warning about recent bellicose statements from US President Donald Trump and was scathing in his criticism of businessman and White House "advisor" Elon Musk's cheerleading for the AfD.
He said Trump had made "clear that [his] government is fairly indifferent to Europe's fate", referring to its exclusion from talks with Russia over Ukraine's future and warned Germany would have to wait to see "whether we will still be able to speak about Nato in its current form" when the alliance next meets in June.
US ADMINISTRATION 'DOESN'T CARE' ABOUT EUROPE
"I never thought that I would ever need to say something like that ... but after the latest statements made by Donald Trump last week, it is clear, that the Americans - at any case these Americans, this administration - mostly don't care about the fate of Europe one way or another," he added.
He added that Musk's interference was "no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less brazen, than the interventions that we have seen from Moscow".
"For me, the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA" in defence matters, Merz said.
"Now we need to talk to each other and as quickly as possible form a government for Germany that can take action so that we can do the right thing at home, be present again in Europe and make sure the world sees that Germany again has a reliable government."
Merz faces a heavy "to-do" list when he becomes chancellor as he tries to kick-start Europe's largest economy, deal with Trump's animosity and help Ukraine reach an acceptable peace settlement with belligerent Russia.
Incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz saw his Social Democrats record their worst performance since the second world war, with 16.4% of the vote after his three-way government collapsed in November over a row on spending priorities. However, it could still emerge as the main single coalition partner as Merz tries to avoid a repeat of the last volatile administration.
Despite its success, the AfD will find itself a significant but friendless bloc in parliament after all other mainstream parties ruled out formal cooperation with the anti-migrant, pro-Russia party.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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