Media about Chancellor Merz's words. “He is no longer going to tolerate everything America does.”

The weekly Die Zeit calls Merz's speech at the opening of the Munich Security Conference a “European Declaration of Independence”. In his “noteworthy speech,” the Chancellor outlined a plan for survival in the world of great powers, calling for “less morality, a cold look at the US and its own agenda,” writes the author of the commentary, Fabian Reinhold.

“A gap, a deep ditch, has emerged between Europe and the United States,” Die Zeit quotes Merz. “America pursues superpower politics”, “the culture war of the MAGA movement is not ours [wojną]” — the editorial team quotes the chancellor's next thoughts and emphasizes that Merz “is not outraged, does not complain, does not beg,” but “soberly analyzes the dramatic situation in the world and draws conclusions from it for his policy.”

Merz presented to the heads of state and government gathered in Munich “a moment of emancipation, a declaration of far-reaching independence.” His agenda “boozes with confidence.” Merz claims “Germany's leadership in Europe.”

His program is to strengthen Europe, not to write off NATO and to look for new partners in the world. Merz criticizes “too much morality and too little strategy” in German politics. He is looking for new partners who do not have to be “crystal democrats”. The first partner is Giorgia Meloni – a post-fascist, but no one in the German government cares about that anymore – says “Die Zeit”. In Munich, Merz outlined the contours of a new German “Realpolitik”. The chancellor must prove he can fulfill his leadership ambitions with life.

The speech was supposed to reach the White House

“Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” points out that Merz delivered one of the most important fragments of his speech in English, so that it could be understood not only by the Americans in Munich, but also by the audience in the White House. This was the fragment in which the Chancellor said that the United States is also bound to be allies, and NATO serves not only Europeans. Strategists in the Pentagon, Merz said, are aware of this. In this way, he drew attention to the inability and lack of will of the US president to recognize the strategic benefits of the alliance with Europe.

The chancellor's speech was devoted not only to the new concept of relations with America. The condition for partnership is Europe's advancement to an independent power in world politics. Despite pressure from Russia, China and now the US, Europeans still allow themselves too much dispute and national selfishness. The duo at the center of the EU – Germany and France – too often go in different directions, although Merz and Macron understand each other well. “One can imagine how the chancellor's offer will be received by nationalists in Poland,” writes Berthold Kohler. “And Hungary has already entered into an agreement with another leader,” the commentator added.

“A strong Europe can only be a Europe of the willing. The Chancellor hopes that enough Europeans will finally understand what is at stake and that they will behave accordingly. You can see how difficult this is for nations, parties and politicians in Germany,” Kohler concluded.

“He presented the tense geopolitical situation without embellishment”

Chancellor Merz called on Germany to take over in foreign policy, we read in “Tagesspiegel”. He presented the tense geopolitical situation without embellishment and accurately described the approaching era of great powers and the collapse of the international order.

Trump's policy was presented as great power policy, often unpredictable. The Chancellor wants his country's new, natural approach to power in the world. He demands censorship, pointing out that not only too much power, but also too little power threatens freedom.

According to “Tagesspiegel”, the Achilles heel of Merz's plan is the half-hearted reform of military service. If Merz demands that Europe become a factor in world politics, he must fight with all his might to restore compulsory military service in Germany, writes “Tagesspiegel” in its conclusion.

“He is no longer going to tolerate everything America does.”

Merz no longer intends to tolerate everything that America does, writes “Der Spiegel”. The Chancellor apparently no longer believes that Europe will be able to keep Trump's US on its side with grace and submission. Merz openly announced the rupture in transatlantic relations – “A gulf has opened between Europe and the United States.”

Is the German government breaking with the US government? – asks the commentator. “No. But the wording in Merz's speech is a break with the way Berlin has approached Washington so far,” he explains. Merz announces a “new transatlantic partnership” based on common interests, not values, more pragmatic.

The Chancellor, referring to Immanuel Kant, demands that Europe overcome its self-inflicted immaturity and announces a new policy towards the USA. “Autocracies have supporters, democracies have partners and allies,” Merz is quoted by “Der Spiegel.”

“Anti-Trump”

“Handelsblatt” calls Merz “Anti-Trump.” “The Chancellor has started emancipation from the USA. It will only be successful if Europe's economic power is transformed into military strength and political unity,” writes the largest German business daily.

He emphasizes that Merz faced the culture war that was started by Vice President JD Vance a year ago in Munich. If a partner across the Atlantic cannot be relied upon, Germany and Europe must learn to act on their own in a world dominated by power politics.