The consensus was that he managed it very well: the new German chancellor Friedrich Merz crossed her First visit to US President Donald Trump Without heated exchanges or diplomatic misconducts. Although he barely had the chance to speak at the press conference of almost 50 minutes at the oval office, he was able to say that Germany will continue to support Ukraine in his defense against Russia.
For his part, Trump treated the conservative politician with more respect than the former chancellor Olaf ScholzWho was not invited to the White House, or Angela Merkel, that Trump once refused to shake hands in the oval office.
Things are quite busy in German politics since May 6, when Merz, from the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) took office. Since then, the new head of the government of Germany has made surprising statements and daring announcements almost every week.
This contrasts with its predecessor Scholz, from the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), who has become known for his tendency to keep the public in ignorance of his plans. Scholz had always urged his staff to join the motto: “We will not be upset, we will not become hysterical.” In other words, he had trouble transmitting a feeling of calm.
Merz: a politician full of impatience
Merz, on the other hand, has never hidden his impatience to have to wait so long in the wings before finally fixing the office he coveted as well: in 2002, he lost a power struggle with Merkel for the management of the CDU. Frustrated, Merz moved into the private sector and only returned to politics when he became clear that Merkel intended to resign in 2021. Four years later, at the age of 69, he finally reached the height of power in Germany. The Chancellery is the first public service that Merz has held in his life.
Scholz and Merz could not have more different personalities. The first is a sober and sweet North German who had a lot of government experience before becoming Chancellor. Scholz was the mayor of Hamburg then the Federal Minister of Finance under Merkel. On the other hand, Merz, by nature very conservative and easily irritated, quickly increased in its ranks of the party even without administrative political experience. The two politicians are not particularly working.
“What can we do?” Versus “We have to do that!”
Michaela Küfner, editor -in -chief of DW, knows the two men well, having accompanied the two leaders during several trips abroad. By reflecting on the different styles of the two politicians and their predecessor, she noted: “While Merkel has always thought of thinking about the mind and Scholz was reluctant to describe a political objective before having opened the way, Merz clearly defines his objectives.” According to Küfner’s analysis, this represents an important political change in itself.
Politics on Ukraine
It took Scholz until the summer of 2022 to visit Ukrainewhich had been invaded by Russia in the spring of the same year. For a long time, Scholz remained secret to know if he would provide weapons to the besieged country – although in the end he did.
Merz, on the other hand, visited Ukraine in the days following his entry into office, with the French president Emmanuel MacronBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmerand Polish Prime Minister Donald TuskWhen they announced that there would soon be a ceasefire and peace talks.
But it has still not happened, while the president Donald Trump seems to have fallen from its prior commitment to forge lasting peace. Given the unpredictability of the American president, it was not really a surprise, something Scholz would certainly have taken into account.
“Following the strong performance with Macron, Tusk and Starmer came this diplomatic embarrassment,” said the Berlin -based correspondent Küfner. “Merz must always prove that this defeat can result in a solid leadership.”
Germany and Israel
The change of style in Germany’s policy towards Israel is even more visible. After Hamas Islamist militia attacked IsraelIn October 2023, Scholz’s response was essentially to insist on the right of Israel to defend himself. This remained his position when the Israeli army has taken increasingly brutal measures against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. The European Union, as well as the United States, Germany and several other countries classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
As an opposition politician at the time, Merz also showed strong support for Israel and even announced that, unlike Scholz, he will demonstrate this support by inviting the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Chancellery. This position did not vacillate even after International Criminal Court In The Hague issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu last November for crimes against humanity.
But shortly after taking office, he did something about a U-turn: a few days ago, Merz said that he no longer understood Israel’s actions in the Gaza War, before adding that they could no longer be justified as a legitimate struggle against Hamas terrorism. Never before has a chancellor spoke so frankly the actions of the Israeli government.
Küfner says: “Merz’s criticism on Israel’s actions in Gaza is a historical step. He is not afraid to directly criticize the Israeli Prime Minister of alleged violations of international law. It is a new tone of Germany. “With this, Merz weighed on the question that Scholz had successfully avoided: how far German reason, the commitment to the security of Israel, actually extends?
What this will mean in practical terms for German Israeli relations remains to be seen. Even under Scholz, delivery of arms to Israel had been relatively limited and Merz did not announce the end of these deliveries. He also did not repeat his anterior invitation to Netanyahu.
In practical terms, little has really changed, but the tone is definitely different. This should continue in the coming weeks. Germany will have to get used to the Chancellor’s new political style. Meanwhile, Scholz now observes all this from his post as an ordinary member of the Bundestag. And he has not yet made any comments on the policies of his successor.
This article was initially written in German.
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