On a common enemy – Marina Kormbaki in Der Spiegel:
‘It is well known that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz isn’t particularly fond of his predecessor Angela Merkel. Merz and Merkel: It is the story of a long rivalry – a saga that perhaps even Donald Trump is aware of. The U.S. president, in any case, seemed intent on badmouthing Merkel with Merz during the German chancellor’s visit to the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. Few things, after all, are more unifying than a common enemy.’
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‘Merz has introduced a new tone into German foreign policy, having issued several sharp condemnations of the U.S. government. During the German election campaign, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and the tech billionaire Elon Musk threw their support behind the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), a bit of meddling that Merz said was "no less dramatic, drastic and ultimately shameless than the interventions we have seen from Moscow.” When Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the war in his own country, Merz said it was a "classic reversal of the role of perpetrator and victim,” adding that he was "rather shocked” that Trump had made Putin’s narrative his own.’
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‘He recently even performed an imitation of Trump, essentially mocking him. During an appearance on the German public broadcaster WDR, Merz began speaking of his telephone conversations with the U.S. president, saying that during such calls, "small talk is important, as is not talking too much and letting him talk instead.” It is "very much about Trump” and every second or third word is "great,” Merz said. He seemed to be enjoying himself as he gossiped about his chats with Trump. Self-confidence? Or clumsy naivete with little thought for the consequences? If Trump took any notice of Merz’s scorn, he didn’t let on. Instead, he flattered Merz, praised him for his election victory and his strength of leadership – but then, for large stretches of the press conference, Trump seemed to forget that Merz was sitting next to him at all.’
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‘Even just a reasonably friendly conversation with Trump, they said, would be a success.’
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‘Like no other political force in Germany, the party stands for close relations between Germany and the U.S. Since Trump’s return to the White House, Merz is no doubt wondering what remains of this alliance. When he was asked not long ago whether Germany is "still in a values alliance with America,” Merz said: "I would love to answer yes, but that is becoming increasingly difficult.”’
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‘During the meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Vance and Rubio were also in the room. They remained silent, however, avoiding provocations on this occasion. Merz can book that as a win.
Indeed, there even seemed to be a certain degree of amiability between Trump and Merz. On one occasion, Trump touched the chancellor’s knee and called him "a good man to deal with, difficult to deal with,” intending it as a compliment. And there are clearly things they have in common. Like the U.S. president, Merz has achieved wealth in the private sector. He owns an airplane and he plays golf, things likely on the positive side of the ledger for Trump.’
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‘When Merz suddenly flip-flopped after the elections and surprisingly decided to loosen Germany’s balanced budget rules to be able to vastly increase German defense spending, he justified it to his party’s lawmakers with the potentially looming American exit from NATO. That, it appears, is one of his foremost concerns. In his conversation with Trump, the chancellor emphasized that Germany is playing a larger role in the alliance than ever before. It was Merz’s way of doing his part to keep the Americans in NATO and prevent Trump from consistently called the mutual defense clause of the North Atlantic Treaty into question.’
Read the article here.
The bar is low. No humiliation is a success. A friendly conversation is great.
But an unreliable, capricious US is all too real. Merz is feigning to be ready for a NATO without the US.