Merz vs. Trump: Is Transatlantic unity crumbling?

Well, some European Union leaders have become slightly more confident in speaking out against certain actions of U.S. President Donald Trump. However, as emphasized by several analysts, such statements often reflect interpersonal relations, which drive the politicians' bold declarations.

On March 3, the head of the CDU/CSU, which won the early Bundestag elections, Friedrich Merz, accused Donald Trump of "prematurely escalating the spat" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In other words, while only a portion of experts had previously commented on the "scripted background" (from the Washington administration) of the incident, Merz became the first major European politician to openly give the situation such a characterization.

Perhaps this anti-Trump démarche would not have attracted such close attention if it had not come from the mouth of what is likely the new Chancellor of Germany. As Merz specified, after repeatedly watching the video footage of the "quarrel," he concluded that Trump’s reaction was not a "spontaneous response to Zelenskyy's interference, but clearly a deliberate escalation." According to his clarification, "typically, political discussions under the cameras in the Oval Office last only a few minutes, but with Zelenskyy, it was different."

Be that as it may, a number of analysts quickly rushed to interpret Merz’s statement as a form of "personal revenge." They implied that both Trump and his team, especially through Elon Musk, openly supported the victory of the right-wing "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) in the Bundestag elections. Not only did they support it, but, as leaders of other German parties claimed, they actively interfered in the German election campaign through Musk's social media platform X, which promoted the AfD as the only force capable of "representing Germany's interests." Following Musk's article in the Welt newspaper at the end of December 2024, in which he described the AfD as a party capable of saving Germany from becoming “a shadow of its former self," Merz condemned the billionaire, accusing him of "unprecedented interference in the election." After his party’s victory in the elections, Merz boldly declared that "the interference from Washington was just as sharp, aggressive, and outrageous as the interference from Moscow."

Overall, Merz has always positioned himself as a "devoted Atlanticist," and after Trump's victory in the presidential elections, he reassured the winner that "the United States has always been and continues to be Germany's main ally outside of Europe." However, recently Merz has sharply changed his tone in this regard. As a result, while most experts view this as a reaction from the leader of the conservative bloc to Trump's anti-European and pro-Russian narrative, many observers are convinced that Merz’s stance on the U.S. is of a personal nature, linked, once again, to Trump's open support for the AfD in the early elections.

Continuing along this line, although Merz did call for "doing everything possible to keep the Americans" in Europe, he defined his "absolute priority" as "strengthening Europe to gradually, but effectively, achieve independence from the U.S." Naturally, Merz is well aware that Donald Trump called the victory of the CDU/CSU tandem "a great day for both Germany and the United States of America." But, apparently, in Merz's view, this statement by Trump did not outweigh the White House’s open support for the AfD. Thus, Merz is currently emphasizing the need for European countries to act "together," and, in contrast to Trump, loudly proclaims himself a staunch advocate for Ukraine, for which, according to him, "we have still done too little. Otherwise, this war would not have lasted three years."

Thus, Merz became the first European politician to openly oppose Trump's positions on both "Ukrainian" and "pan-European" issues. As he stated, "We must be prepared for the possibility that Trump may stop adhering to the commitments to assist Europe outlined in the NATO treaty." In this context, he urged Europeans to "make every effort to be able to defend the continent on their own." At the same time, Merz placed negotiations between Germany, the UK, and France at the forefront, focusing on "joint management of nuclear weapons and nuclear security."

In this context, it is worth noting that Merz's rhetoric significantly differs from that of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The first two, while openly supporting Ukraine, constantly emphasize that security issues cannot be resolved without U.S. support. Meanwhile, Meloni, who proposed organizing a summit of European leaders and the U.S. "to find ways to end hostilities," simultaneously called on leaders "not to make the mistake of supporting a split within the West." Merz, however, speaks more about European unity rather than the unity of the transatlantic space as a whole.

But is the European continent ready for this, given that the last three high-level meetings of European political leaders failed to reach consensus on any significant issue? All the proposed measures remained just proposals. Yes, the forum participants support, for example, the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine "in any future peace agreement, with Kyiv's mandatory participation in negotiations," along with similar points, but at this point, it is impossible to speak of a unified position regarding the achievement of results in this direction. The next summit of EU leaders is scheduled for March 6.

As for Merz, specifically in the context of his political figure, some have referred to a recent statement by the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, that "the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge."

Now, we await the White House's reaction.