Merz Brings Germany Back to the Table

Merz Brings Germany Back to the Table

The new chancellor has moved quickly to fix years of foreign policy dysfunction in Berlin.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz turns to foreign policy

Friedrich Merz now heads the German government. He has vowed to make foreign policy a top priority, visiting France and Poland on his first day in office.

In a phone call on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) will attempt to convince US President Donald Trump to forgo tariffs in favor of more free trade. "The experience we have had in Europe with open borders and free trade is that this ultimately benefits everyone," Merz told the TV channel "Welt." Relations between economic nations are not a zero-sum game. If conditions are favorable, everyone can benefit. "I want to try to explain…

Much has been said about the relations between Donald Trump and the financial superoligarchy (Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, etc.) to instrumentalize the corporate state for his interests. But the new head of the German government also embodies powerful business interests. Friedrich Merz worked for years as a business lawyer and high-level lobbyist, held positions of responsibility in a large number of large companies such as BASF and BlackRock, and t…