Chancellor Friedrich Merz Declares End of Unconditional US-European Friendship

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared on Thursday that the era of unconditional transatlantic friendship between the United States and Europe, established after World War II, is likely over for the foreseeable future. Speaking to party members in Berlin, Merz attributed the breakdown in relations to a shift in political attitudes and a reassessment of the transatlantic alliance under the presidency of Donald Trump.

Merz noted that the change in the assessment of the alliance on the other side of the Atlantic was a development that Germany might not have previously thought possible. He characterized the current political climate as a fundamental departure from the historical security and diplomatic bonds that have defined the relationship between the two regions for decades.