Just over two months in power — and already facing a political crisis. Recently, Friedrich Merz’s coalition has been thrown into turmoil. What does the chancellor intend to do about it?

In the final answer of his 30-minute interview with Germany’s public broadcaster ARD on Sunday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz struck a clearer note than in any other part of the discussion: “I have not liked what the Israeli government has been doing in the Gaza Strip for many weeks now.” He had also expressed this view in several meetings and telephone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he insisted.

The chancellor said he hoped that the Europeans, together with the US, could bring about a solution to the conflict “that ultimately leads to a two-state solution.” The Palestinians have a “right” to a place where they can live, he said. “The way things are going at the moment is unacceptable.” Merz did not discuss the fate of the last remaining Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity, or the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza, nor was he asked to.

It was day 69 of Merz’s term as chancellor, and nominally day 2 of the German parliament’s summer recess. The Bundestag is currently not scheduled to reconvene until September 8 — another two months.

The Bundestag debate on the new Constitutional Court judges exposed a rift in Merz’s (right) coalition with Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil’s SPD Image: Niklas Treppner/dpa/picture alliance

A spirit of renewal for the new chancellor

Merz and his government had hoped to usher in a spirit of renewal in Germany by now, which is what he had been promising since shortly after the federal elections at the end of February. In recent days, Merz’s loyal supporters have been trying to paint a picture of success, insisting that the economy is showing positive signs, and pointing to the decline in the number of refugees coming to Germany.

But there can be little talk of renewal before the summer vacation, at least not in domestic politics, given the coalition crisis that nearly erupted on Friday. Merz’s coalition had wanted the parliament to elect three new judges to the Constitutional Court, Germany’s highest court, which requires a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag.

According to accounts by many of those involved, Jens Spahn, leader of the CDU parliamentary group, had promised the Social Democrats (SPD) the CDU’s support weeks ago. Yet there was opposition, with dozens of MPs outraged by statements made by one of the candidates to the court. Shortly before the plenary session, the coalition partners withdrew the topic from the agenda, leaving the question unresolved as summer recess arrives.

This is much more than just a row over a personnel decision. The larger issue is how much power Merz and Spahn can exert over members of their conservative bloc in parliament. Consequently, nearly half of the ARD interview focused on this unprecedented incident in German history.

The chancellor referred to each member’s freedom to make certain decisions according to their own conscience. Then he sidestepped all subsequent questions, citing upcoming consultations, internal deliberations, dialogue within the coalition, or unresolved issues. Interestingly, Merz did not mention a single active CDU politician by name in the entire interview. And only afterwards, in a shorter ARD roundtable discussion broadcast only online, did he complain about the “wave of outrage” in the past few days, as well as “untruths, unbelievable malice, unbelievable personal insults.”

President Steinmeier warned that the Constitutional Court issue had to be resolved soon Image: Thomas Kierok/ZDF/dpa/picture alliance

President Steinmeier warns Chancellor Merz

Merz came also under fire again this Sunday — not from parliament, but from Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Hours before the chancellor’s interview on ARD, Steinmeier made a statement in an interview on ZDF, Germany’s other national public broadcaster.

Steinmeier said he believes that the coalition between the CDU and the SPD has “damaged itself” as a result of the failure to elect the judges. To limit any further damage to Germany’s highest court, he added, the Bundestag should take up the “decisions in the immediate future.” “If this doesn’t happen, we would have cause for concern.” Failure to act quickly would endanger the rule of law, said Steinmeier, pointing to the current situation in the US. Neither the interviewer nor the chancellor responded to Steinmeier’s statement.

On Friday, the coalition parties set September as the next date for voting on the three judges. The Greens, on the other hand, are pushing for a new vote in a special Bundestag session this week, something Steinmeier signaled he would also prefer. Merz, however, showed no signs of moving in this direction. “The whole thing is overblown,” he said. Adding, we will come back to it later. “Next time, we’ll do better.” But when?

Why did this dramatic Friday cause such a stir and prompt criticism of the coalition in the media? It might be because the new chancellor’s first day in office also showed signs of discord in his coalition. Much to the surprise of political observers, and for the first time in the country’s history, the chancellor failed to get the required majority in the first round of voting in the Bundestag, normally a formality. This crisis has overshadowed whatever the government has achieved since then.

Major welfare reforms ahead

Meanwhile, as Merz pointed out in Sunday’s interview, there are huge reform projects pending for the second half of the year. His coalition plans to reform the social security systems covering health, welfare and pensions, something the CDU and the SPD do not always see eye to eye on. Merz says the coalition acknowledges “that we… have to reform,” and work on this is “in full swing.”

This could become even more difficult following President Donald Trump’s announcement this weekend that the US would impose 30% tariffs on all imports from the EU, starting on August 1. This does not bode well for the German economy, as the US is Germany’s most important trading partner. Merz told ARD that the tariffs will “cut to the bone.” The EU must now show unity, Merz said, and “ensure that tariffs of this magnitude do not come into effect.” Merz visited Trump in early June and warned against such trade barriers, among other things.

It seems very unlikely that any of this will happen before the beginning of the eight-week summer recess. Merz’s spokesperson has already announced several meetings for Friday, including trips to Munich and London. On July 18, he will answer questions at an annual summer press conference in Berlin, for the first time as chancellor. For his predecessors Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz this was usually the last public appearance before going on vacation.

This article was translated from German.

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A new tripartite alliance between Germany, France and the UK has emerged in response to the threat from Russia and doubts about US support for European security.

Germany has had an official friendship with France for more than 60 years in the form of the Elysee Treaty. Now there is also one with the United Kingdom— the first comprehensive bilateral treaty between the two nations since the end of the Second World War.

Above all, the treaty signed on Thursday provides for close security and arms cooperation, including mutual assistance obligations in the event of a crisis, though this is something that has long existed within NATO.

Chancellor Merz and Prime Minister Starmer celebrate the signing of the new German-British friendship treaty on July 17 Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance

A few days before German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed the treaty in London, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte also paid a state visit to the UK that lasted several days, including a carriage ride with the royal couple and a state banquet. Their visit, too, was primarily about the security of Europe’s two nuclear powers.

Merz, Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also traveled together on a train to Kyiv a few weeks ago to assure Ukraine of their continued support. Photos from the trip show the three of them in relaxed and informal conversation. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined them after taking another train.

An alliance born of necessity

“E3” is the relatively new acronym for the cooperation between the three major western European nations of Germany, France and the UK. Although France and Germany are already close partners within the European Union, the UK has been on the sidelines since Brexit, when it withdrew from the 27-member political and economic union.

French Prime Minister Macron and his wife Brigitte (left) were also received by King Charles and Queen Camilla during their state visit to the UK earlier this month Image: Gonzalo Fuentes/AFP/Getty Images

But these differences have been set aside to address two pressing issues: the threat from Russia and uncertainty over whether US President Donald Trump would back European NATO states in the event of war. The nuclear deterrence of France and the UK, as Merz has repeatedly hinted, could supplement US protection for Europe, and perhaps even replace it in the longer term, should Washington turn its back on Europe altogether.

Merz: ‘We were free-riders’

Merz’s inaugural visit to Washington in June was generally deemed a success, and his joint press appearance with Trump went off without exposing any major rifts. By contrast, Trump and Vice President JD Vance had snubbed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of cameras in the Oval Office in February. The scene appalled Merz at the time.

Merz said little at his press conference with Trump and appeared to be nervous, while Trump talked all the more. The chancellor mainly promised more defense spending, and the US president seemed satisfied.

There were no mishaps at the press conference between Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump at the White House in June, but expectations were low. Image: Evan Vucci/AP/picture alliance

“Trump is not interested in partnership, but in vassalage,” University of Halle-Wittenberg political scientist Johannes Varwick wrote to DW.

Immediately after his election victory in February, Merz said that Europe should “achieve independence from the US” in terms of defense policy.

But this is unrealistic, said Henning Hoff from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). “In view of Europe’s great dependence on the US in terms of security policy, openly turning away from Washington would be reckless and unwise,” he wrote to DW.

Varwick concurs: “There can be no question of independence,” either politically or militarily, he wrote.

Trump and Merz strike friendly tone at White House meeting To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

In London, Merz hinted that while security cooperation with the UK can supplement the US defense guarantee, it could be no substitute. In a BBC interview, the chancellor also agreed with the US President when it came to European defense spending: “We know that we have to do more on our own and we have been free-riders in the past,” he said. “They are asking us to do more, and we are doing more now,” he added, referring to Germany’s new plans to massively increase its own defense spending.

Border controls strain relations with Poland

Merz, who heads Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union, repeatedly accused the previous government under center-left Social Democrat Olaf Scholz of neglecting relations with France and Poland. Immediately after taking office in May, Merz traveled to Paris and Warsaw to signal how much he values these two European partners.

He appeared to instantly forge a cordial understanding with Macron, but there were tensions with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk after Berlin introduced border controls with its neighbor to prevent illegal entry. Poland does not want to take back migrants and is also now controlling its border with Germany.

After Germany began border controls to prevent illegal entries at the Polish border, Warsaw responded in kind. Image: Monika Stefanek/DW

The border issue was a “false start,” said the DGAP’s Henning Hoff. “Because symbolic migration policy was more important to him than European cohesion and good neighborly relations with Poland.”

At the press conference with Starmer in London, Merz emphasized that the tripartite cooperation was not exclusive: “We’re always bearing in mind Poland, Italy and the other also smaller European partners in whatever decision we take,” he said.

Nevertheless, the journey that Merz, Starmer and Macron took together to Kyiv—without Tusk or Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni—was symbolic. And so far the new formula for security policy cooperation is E3, not E4 or E5.

This article was originally written in German.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not see any indication that the war in Ukraine will end soon, while Defense Minister Boris Pistorius urged further action to cut off Russia’s financial lifelines.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday dampened expectations of a quick end to the war in Ukraine.

“There are currently no signs that this war will end quickly,” Merz said in Berlin. However, when mentioning diplomatic efforts to end the war, he referred to the potential mediation of the pope as “the last earthly authority.”

Merz said one could only hope that it would at least be possible to bring the conflicting parties together for a constructive discussion in the Vatican. The chancellor also emphasized the importance of Germany playing an “active, supportive, strong” role in the peace efforts.

Trump: ‘This is not my war’

Merz’s remarks follow Monday’s telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump-Putin call fails to yield Ukraine ceasefire To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

After the call, Trump wrote that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war.” He also mentioned that the Vatican said it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations.

Trump reiterated his warning that he could abandon the process to seek a ceasefire if there is no progress in the talks. “This is not my war,” he told reporters.

On Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Pope Leo XIV had confirmed the Vatican’s willingness to host peace talks between the two sides. The Vatican has not issued a public statement on the matter.

Trump misjudged influence on Putin, Pistorius says

Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Trump misjudged his influence on Putin.

“I suspect he assessed his negotiating position incorrectly,” Pistorius told the Deutschlandfunk public radio broadcaster, referring to Trump’s apparently abandoned efforts to pressure Putin into accepting an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

“Nothing is really happening. It’s all new places, new timelines — and it just means Vladimir Putin can continue his attacks on Ukraine. But there is no peace in sight,” Pistorius said.

Since the phone call between the Russian and US presidents yielded no progress in the Ukraine peace talks, Europe was prompted to announce new sanctions on Russia.

EU plans new sanctions to deflate Putin’s war chest To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Pistorius urged further action to cut off Russia’s financial lifelines.

“The goal must be to curb the considerable flow of money into Russia’s state coffers, which helps finance the war,” he said.

The German defense minister argued that only by doing so can the West effectively degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war in Ukraine, citing revenues from Russian oil and gas exports as an example.

Pistorius also stressed the need to bolster Ukraine’s rearmament efforts, noting that the country has production capacity in its arms industry but lacks the funding to utilize it fully.

“We will step in together and fill these capacity gaps,” Pistorius said.

Edited by: Sean Sinico

Conservative German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is traveling to Turku in southwestern Finland in order to meet with the prime ministers of the Nordic countries.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia and has warned of Moscow’s military build-up.

Health Minister Nina Warken is calling for Germany to impose tighter restrictions on the online prescription of medicinal cannabis.

Meanwhile, Greens parliamentary leader Katharina Dröge called a plan by Merz’s government to abolish a 3-year accelerated path to German citizenship “senseless.”

These updates have been closed. Thank you for reading.

Here is a roundup of top news stories from Germany on Monday, May 26:

After meeting with his US counterpart at a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey, Germany’s foreign minister said Berlin is willing to “follow” US President’s Trump’s demand for increased defense spending.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday that Berlin accepts in principle the demand from the United States that NATO member states increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.

Speaking on the sidelines of an informal gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Antalya, Turkey, Wadephul said: “The result is the 5% that President [Donald] Trump has called for, and we will follow him in this respect.”

NATO members are currently committed to spending at least 2% of GDP on military expenditure, a target which around one third of the alliance still doesn’t meet, including Portugal (1.55%), Italy (1.49%), Canada (1.37%), Belgium (1.3%) and Spain (1.28%).

Germany currently spends just over 2% of its GDP on defense and new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week that each additional percentage point would mean further annual expenditure of €45 billion ($50.5 billion).

German FM: Germany to ramp up defense spending To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Follow other headlines on the latest in Germany on Thursday May 15, 2025 on our blog here.

Rubio on NATO: ‘No weak links’

With some countries considering 5% unrealistic, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week suggested a compromise whereby classic military spending be increased to 3.5% with the remaining 1.5% to be invested in defense-related infrastructure.

“For example, to make sure that bridges are there for you and me to drive our cars, but also, if necessary, to make sure that the bridge will hold a tank,” he said upon arrival at the Antalya meeting.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the 5% target would not be reached in just a couple of years and would pose a financial challenge for the United States, too, which currently spends only 3.37% of GDP on defense – albeit by far the most in absolute terms.

“NATO has the opportunity to grow even stronger,” he said in Antalya. “The alliance is only as strong as its weakest link, and we intend and endeavor to have no weak links in this alliance.”

Bavaria’s Söder: ‘3.5% is doable’

Back in Germany, Markus Söder, the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Merz and Wadephul’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), also backed an increase in defense spending.

“3.5% will be the core minimum that we’re going to have to invest, possibly extended to 5% of GDP,” he said at a meeting of defense industry representatives in Munich in Thursday. “That means at least €150 billion per year extra.”

Söder predicted that NATO countries would eventually settle on the 3.5% compromise, since even the United States don’t spend 5% of GDP on defense.

“I think that’s doable, I think that’s manageable,” he said. “And that’s what we have to do, with no tricks, but with clarity.”

SPD: Trump’s demands are ‘off the scale’

However, while Merz, Wadephul and Söder are singing from the same hymn sheet, the CDU’s coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), appear less united.

SPD finance expert Andreas Schwarz told Bavarian media that the suggestion from NATO Secretary General Rutte “is heading in the right direction,” but foreign policy spokesman Adis Ahmetovic warned the CDU not to jump to premature decisions.

“The budget will be determined within the coalition,” he told Stern magazine.

SPD veteran Ralf Stegner rejected an increase in defense expenditure to 5% of GDP entirely. While accepting that Germany must do more to bolster its own defensive capabilities and those of NATO, he told the Handelsblatt newspaper that “Donald Trump’s billion-dollar rearmament demands are off the scale.”

Merz: German army to be ‘strongest in Europe’

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Merz declared his intention to reinvest in Germany’s armed forces in order to transform the Bundeswehr into the “strongest conventional army in Europe.”

In his first major address to parliament since his new coalition government was inaugurated last week, Merz promised that Germany would take on greater responsibility within NATO and the European Union.

“This is appropriate for Europe’s most populous and economically powerful country,” he said. “Our friends and partners expect this from us. Indeed, they practically demand it.”

Edited by: Wesley Rahn