On Feb. 23, Germany went to the polls after the collapse of current chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government over a budgeting dispute. The triumphant party was the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) led by incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz. Because he did not win a majority of the vote however, Merz will need to form a coalition, expected to be with the centre-left social democrats.
Merz’s victory is good news for the European Union (EU) as Germany will remain a cooperative member despite a second place finish by the EU hostile far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD). Merz’s victory is a reaction to Donald Trump’s increasing hostility to Europe and chumminess with Vladimir Putin. It is a movement within the pro-EU governments of the continent to make Europe militaristically strong amid the loss of a reliable ally in the U.S. Merz’s victory and the probable centre-right and centre-left coalition government is good news for European independence, but their differences need to be set aside to guard the German government and the EU from the rise of the pro-Russian, pro-Trump far-right.
One of Merz’s stated goals is to increase defense funding for Germany and to bulk up EU defense against Russia, an urgent task considering Trump’s hostility to NATO allies and the EU, which Trump recently claimed was invented to “screw over” the U.S, Trump had his UN delegates vote in accordance with Russia at the UN in not placing the blame for the Ukraine war as Russia’s fault.
This goal to increase defense funding and keep a united EU front should be the unifying factor of the coalition and both coalition parties’ support for the EU should supersede any differences. Both parties’ disdain for the far-right should motivate them to stay in power together with the knowledge that if the coalition falls apart, the AFD could possibly win, which spells trouble for Germany, Europe and the West in protecting itself from Putin’s sphere of influence.
For now, I am cautiously optimistic about the result as I do think that Merz and this new government will keep up a front against Trump’s hostility toward NATO. EU leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron have taken the lead in trying to adjust Europe to Trump and Putin’s influence. It’s good news that Merz comes from the same school of thought that Europe cannot rely on the US under someone like Trump, because that should motivate the new coalition government to stay together. During his victory speech in Berlin, Merz announced that it was his intention that Germany and Europe become independent of the US and that Trump was “indifferent” to the fate of Europe.
As populist parties rise around the West, Europeans see them for the pro-Russia scams that some of them are and make the pragmatic decision to elect pro-Europe candidates to keep the continent as self-reliant as possible during the Trump-Putin alliance era. Despite disagreements with a fair deal of Merz’s other beliefs, I am hoping his government will stand firm. If not, the results will be a disaster for Europe.
