In the recent German parliamentary elections, the CDU/CSU alliance led by Friedrich Merz emerged victorious, securing 28.6% of the vote. The hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second, doubling its vote share from 2021. Merz voiced concerns about US President Trump's stance on Europe’s security, emphasizing a need for Europe to strengthen its defense independence from the US. He expressed skepticism regarding NATO's future and criticized interventions from American billionaire Elon Musk that supported the AfD, highlighting pressures from both the US and Russia on Germany's political landscape.
"I never thought I would have to say something like that on a TV programme but after Donald Trump's latest comments in the last week, it is clear that the Americans, or at least this portion of the Americans, this government, care very little about the fate of Europe."
"Merz said he was not sure that NATO would exist in its current form by the time of the next meeting of the transatlantic military alliance in June, or whether we will have to establish an independent European defence capability much more quickly."
"The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and impertinent than the interventions we have seen from Moscow, so we are under massive pressure from two sides, Merz said."
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