The first step towards Mr Merz being effective on the European stage is for him to forge a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats at home, a task expected to take several more weeks. But the agreement announced on March 4th was startling in its ambition.

The likely next chancellor is unpopular, and his country’s economy has stalled. But his penchant for risks could help lead to a European showdown with President Trump.

Not so long ago, European corporate bosses were worried about missing out on the “Trump bump”. U.S. President Donald Trump’s November victory briefly supercharged the long-running outperformance of the world’s largest economy and stock market,

The Christian Democrat, who appeared to have a path to a stable governing coalition, hopes to lead Europe’s response to President Trump’s reshuffling of alliances.

Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany's mainstream conservatives, has said that Europe must become independent from the United States in security matters, after his grouping won the biggest share of the vote in federal elections.

As expected, Friedrich Merz is set to become the next German chancellor after his conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) won one of the tightest and highest-turnout elections in the country’s postwar history.

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Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor-in-waiting, advocates nuclear talks with France and Britain while maintaining U.S. protection. He calls for stronger European defense amid rising tensions from Russia and plans to form a new coalition.

But, although he will not become chancellor for some weeks, Friedrich Merz, who won Germany’s election on February 23rd, has just transformed his country with a stroke of commendable boldness.

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Berlin’s decision to lift all caps on military spending and binge on infrastructure marks a U-turn for the fiscally conservative country.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz has triumphed at Germany’s ballot boxes, paving his way to become the next chancellor. His win is of particular significance to Europe — the leader has vowed to strengthen the EU,