“We are, in fact, a normative alternative to imperialism and autocracy in the world,” Merz said. “We have something to offer our partners around the world, both economically and, above all, in terms of our ideals.”
Merz also joined other European leaders in condemning U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment last week that NATO allies had stayed “a little off the front lines” during the war in Afghanistan, a statement that sparked outrage in Europe’s capitals. During the nearly 20-year mission in Afghanistan, launched in response to the September 11 attacks on the U.S., 59 German soldiers lost their lives.
“We will not allow this mission, which we also carried out in the interests of our ally, the United States of America, to be disparaged and belittled today,” Merz said to sustained applause. “I would like to say once again to our soldiers on duty and at their bases today that your service was and is valuable.”
Given Germany’s ongoing dependence on U.S. military power for its own defense, Merz has been reluctant to openly criticize Trump even as he warns that Europe must prepare to go it alone as the U.S.-led global order crumbles.
On Thursday, he urged the German public and European allies to seek to preserve the alliance with the U.S. to the degree possible.
“We should not recklessly jeopardize established alliances,” Merz said. “The transatlantic alliance and transatlantic trust are still valuable in their own right today. For us in Germany, this is particularly true.”
At the same time, Merz is pushing to make Germany more militarily independent of the U.S. Shortly after becoming chancellor last May, Merz vowed to take more responsibility for Europe’s defense by building the strongest conventional army in Europe.