A senior ally of Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday was optimistic about securing support for a massive increase in state borrowing this month, seeing the basis for a deal on defence with the Greens party after emergency talks.

But critics say Merz's style seems imperious and inspired by the disruptive spirit reigning in the United States - and won't go down well in a country where the executive's power

One of the first acts of Chancellor-elect Friedrich Merz (Christian Democrat, CDU) after the election was to invite the right-wing extremist Israeli Prime Minister to Berlin.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's conservative chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz agreed during a meeting in Paris to open a new chapter in Franco-German relations, a source close to Merz told Reuters.

Tuesday on the RealClearPolitics Podcast, Carl Cannon spoke with historian and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Liana Fix about the recent election results in Germany, where the mainstream conservative party led by Friedrich Merz captured the most votes and the further-right Alternative For Deutschland (AfD) party took second place.

Merz told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper the parties were discussing the limits, and also whether to start a fund to hike defence spending, though he said he did not want to prejudge party negotiations.

Donald Trump may end up drawing down the American troops who have guaranteed German security for 80 years and slapping tariffs on the country’s exports. Although an election held on February 23rd will probably result in a centrist coalition taking power under the leadership of the conservative Friedrich Merz.

France and Britain are unlikely to include European allies in their nuclear deterrence, analysts said after future German leader Friedrich Merz called for European defence "independence" and a possibl

Germany’s Friedrich Merz, poised to be his country’s next chancellor, said he thinks the explosive exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Trump on Friday resulted from a “deliberate escalation” by the U.

The lightning rally in the euro comes after Germany’s Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz announced a deal to fund investment in defence and infrastructure, as European leaders prepare to shoulder more of the burden for the region’s security and support Ukraine.

Compared to last October, when it became apparent that an election would be called, the vote for the CDU/CSU is down slightly vis a vis the polls, the AfD have not