When he traveled to Paris and Warsaw on Wednesday for his first official foreign trip, the new German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz did not arrive in the favorable position he had hoped for.
The CDU party leader wanted to send a strong message to his partner. However, two rounds of votes were required on Tuesday to be confirmed as the first head of government in German political history since World War II.
As a result, Merz had to deal with the domestic crisis just before meeting his French and Polish counterparts.
He wants to bring about a change of thought in his country, so the initial stumbling could be heavily on Meltz’s shoulder. The new German Prime Minister wants to make defense a priority. Since the successful party election in February, Mertz has defended strong Germany within a strong Europe that is more independent from the United States.
Merz’s words about dedicating more resources to defense and expanding France’s nuclear deterrence will certainly appeal to French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Yes, that looks promising. It’s good news, as it’s not a bad thing that it didn’t work at all between Macron and Scholz (the former prime minister), so it’s not a bad thing,” explains Sophie Porn Pawn Porn Porn Porn Schregel, deputy director of the European Jack Dellers Think Tank.
“And I think that in the case of Merz, who says he’s trying to focus more on international relations and European issues, we’ll see the update for Franco Germany,” explained Pornoschregel.
However, at this stage it is unclear whether Paris and Berlin can agree to the joint project or whether the aim is to promote national industry.
“Of course the issue is detailed and we need to give up on France being very Franco-France and see if we are really doing anything in Europe. We also need to see if Germany can really let go of the very strong transatlantic tradition, especially among the conservatives.”
Weimar triangle reboot
After Paris, Merz went to Warsaw. Again, the gestures were powerful. Poland is an EU country dedicated to defence the largest share of its budget. This is the point where two leaders from the same politician can approach them.
“I think Poland is a less obvious partner, but I think he really understands that France and Germany are not enough to lead Europe, the situation is different, that Europe is unlike the past and that Poland is also necessary as part of this core of Europe.
“The fact that he is coming to Poland as Prime Minister on the first day of his term is, of course, a sign of growing interest in this bilateral relationship, and I think he will consider Poland to be an equally important partner to the French and Weimar triangle,” added Blas.
Weimar Triangle is a cooperative forum created in 1991 between France, Germany and Poland. It was created when Europe was reorganized following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
However, for Brass, restarting European machines through the trio is far too simple.
“I think that while Merz is probably not an equal partner in France and Poland, he is seen as a truly important partner for Germany, he knows that the coalition of willingness to shape the future of Europe must be more important than that,” he said.
Mertz’s agenda highlights his desire to work at the EU level. On Friday, he will meet the President of the European Commission and Council of Europe, Ursula von der Reyen and Antonio Costa.
