Free Republic

Germany’s Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, attacked Trump over the war in Iran. Trump responded by withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany. The attack was a foolish thing for Merz to have done, but perhaps given the state of Islamic control over German society, he felt he had no other choice. It all started last Monday, when Merz announced that the U.S. was losing in Iran and essentially demanded that the U.S. beat a speedy retreat: “ The problem with conflicts like this is always you don’t just have to get in – you have to get out again. We saw that very...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested on Monday that Ukraine may have to accept that parts of its territory could remain outside Kyiv's control in ​a future peace deal with Russia, linking such concessions to ‌the country's prospects for joining the European Union. "At some point, Ukraine will sign a ceasefire agreement; at some point, hopefully, a peace treaty with Russia. Then it may ​be that part of Ukraine's territory is no longer Ukrainian," Merz ​told students at the Carolus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Marsberg, a town in ⁠North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday. "If President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy wants to communicate this to his ​own population...

In a democracy, citizens must have the right to express their frustration with those who govern them. It’s not looking good for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Plagued by dismal approval ratings, he has also acquired a reputation for being thin-skinned, censorious, and authoritarian. Last week, the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg ordered Merz’s office—the Federal Chancellery—to disclose information on proceedings related to alleged insults against him, including which public prosecutor’s offices are investigating the cases and under which file numbers the proceedings are being conducted. In total, this involves approximately 300 cases. The news caused a stir and has the...

Just as Europe needs its Franco-German power couple to unite to tackle U.S. President Donald Trump’s growing menace to Greenland, relations between Paris and Berlin are under strain. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is vowing to form a joint front with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in the coming days — revving up the cross-Rhine alliance often described as the engine of the EU — to secure a breakthrough with Trump. But building what Merz calls a “common position” with Macron doesn’t come at an easy moment. Both sides will need to put aside months of frustration, suspicion and bad blood....

Germany should take over the historically American role of Nato Europe commander, Donald Trump’s envoy to the Western alliance has suggested. Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to Nato, said he hoped Germany would one day volunteer for the prestigious role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He told the Berlin Security Conference: “I look forward to the day when Germany comes to the United States and says that we’re ready to take over the Supreme Allied Commander position. I think we’re a long way away from that, but I look forward to those discussions.” Since Nato was founded in 1949, the...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reportedly filed hundreds of criminal complaints against members of the public for insulting him during his tenure as a politician. According to research conducted by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Merz is “one of the most sensitive politicians in the history” of the German republic. Die Welt’s Sunday paper reported that during his time as a member of parliament, Merz filed criminal complaints against citizens for calling him names such as “little Nazi”, “asshole,” and “filthy drunk”, among others. The paper said that documents from a law firm commissioned by Merz to file such complaints...

German Chancellor: Israel’s actions in Gaza do not amount to genocide. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Germany will decide on its stance on EU sanctions against Israel before an October meeting.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone on Thursday about arms deliveries to Ukraine, a spokesperson for the German leaders told Reuters. Merz initiated the call with Trump, the spokesperson said on Friday. Spiegel magazine first reported on the call.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gifted President Trump a gilded framed copy of his grandfather’s birth certificate during their first face-to-face meeting at the White House Thursday. The gold-encased present, a reflection of the president’s signature Oval Office décor, paid tribute to Friedrich Trump, who was born in Kallstadt, Germany, in 1869 and later immigrated to the United States. “That’s serious German,” Trump said in response to the gesture. “I want to thank you for that. That’s beautiful. Thank you very much. Fantastic. We’ll put it up in a place of honor.” Trump was previously gifted a “golden pager” from Israeli...

The German chancellor’s drive to keep a campaign pledge of more robust backing for Ukraine is running into blocks within his own government as he prepares to welcome Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Berlin.Friedrich Merz made a full-throated declaration on Monday, hours before Zelenskyy’s one-day visit was announced, that Germany was for the first time lifting previous range restrictions on weapons supplied to Kyiv, along with Ukraine’s other main western supporters.His statement – in an interview with a public broadcaster, which his team later posted to social media – was widely interpreted as a pivot toward bolstering Berlin’s aid to Kyiv at...

In his first address to the Bundestag parliament on Wednesday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to rearm Germany so that the country would have the “strongest” military force in Europe. Following years of chronic underinvestment in defence and relying on the United States for protection, Chancellor Merz told lawmakers that “strengthening the Bundeswehr is our top priority” and will make “every effort to continue to achieve the greatest possible agreement between the European and American partners.” In this context, Merz promised to expand Germany’s military forces “into the strongest conventional army in Europe,” Die Welt reports.

Just a hair over a week ago (ten days to be exact), an official arm of the German government declared the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party - now polling as Germany's most popular party in the country - a 'right-wing extremist' group. Yeah, right - so big deal, no? I mean, they've been calling them that forever. Actually, it was a big deal. It made the epithet an official label, opening the party and every last one of its members to constant, sanctioned (instead of surreptitious) government surveillance. It was also the first necessary step in the process of...

French President Emmanuel Macron suffered an embarrassing moment during a train ride into Ukraine on Sunday. Reporters filmed Macron during a train ride from Poland to Ukraine with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.The three leaders are on their way to Kiev to discuss the ongoing war with Russia and potential peace talks.Rumors quickly began to spread that Macron possessed cocaine after he quickly grabbed a crumpled-up tissue. Others speculated that Merz tried to cover a straw or a spoon.WATCH at link. Three men and a bag of white powder.Notice how Macron sneakily and deftly swipes...

Germany’s Friedrich Merz has formally become chancellor at the second attempt, hours after an unprecedented defeat signaled deep discontent within his coalition. In a hastily organized session on Tuesday afternoon, 325 lawmakers voted to approve his appointment — more than the 316 he required. His appointment was approved by the president shortly later, and he is set to be sworn in at the Bundestag. Merz, who won an election in February and unveiled a ruling coalition last month, had fallen six votes short earlier in the day, a stunning setback that marked another twist in a tortuous period of uncertainty...

Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz narrowly lost a vote in the Bundestag to become the next chancellor in an unexpected setback that plunges Europe's largest economy into political uncertainty. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which finished second in the most recent election, demanded fresh elections after Merz's loss, the first time in German history that a chancellor-designate has failed to win in the first round of voting.

Germany’s Friedrich Merz has failed to win an initial parliamentary vote that would have confirmed his ascension to chancellor, an unprecedented and unexpected twist that extends political uncertainty for the country. Merz, who won an election in February and unveiled a ruling coalition last month, fell six short in a vote on Tuesday by lawmakers that had been expected to be a formality. He is expected to eventually find a path to power, but the result pitches Germany into yet more political chaos. February’s vote started a weeks-long period of politicking and negotiating, during which the country’s establishment was buffeted...

ICC arrest warrant: Germany’s incoming leader stands by Netanyahu. Germany's likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, invites Netanyahu for a visit, says arrangements would be made to prevent Netanyahu from being arrested.

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his unofficial victory Sunday that a top priority is to make his country and the rest of Europe stronger so that they can become independent from the U.S. with President Donald Trump in office. “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,” Merz said, according to the news outlet Politico . He also said Trump's recent comments show "Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”...

He also says Trump doesn’t care about Europe and slams Musk’s election 'interventions'

Friedrich Merz is poised to become Germany's next chancellor in a government led by the Christian Democratic Union and its sister party, the Christian Social Union...He is seen as a center-right, pro-business politician...[Also, a] migration hard-liner and longtime rival of Angela Merkel...