Friedrich Merz, head of the conservative Christian Democrats, has vowed to bring stronger leadership to Europe, where the new Trump administration has sowed anxiety. By Steven Erlanger and ...

Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday ...

By Steven Erlanger Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent for Europe, reported from Berlin. Published Feb. 20, 2025Updated Feb. 23, 2025, 11:14 a.m. ET Friedrich Merz, the man favored ...

Merz and other European mainstream leaders increasingly see the U.S. no longer a beacon — that “shining city upon a hill,” as Reagan liked to call it — but rather as another force joining Russia and ...

“We need to have discussions with both the British and the French — the two European nuclear powers — about whether nuclear sharing, or at least nuclear security from the U.K. and France, could also ...

Tall and with a sonorous voice, arch-conservative Mr Merz was a perfect figure for the party in 1989 - when he first won elected office for the European Parliament. Hailing from the Sauerland ...

He entered politics full-time in 1989, when he was elected to the European Parliament at the age of 33. After serving one term as an MEP, Merz, a married father-of-three, was elected to the ...

A recent survey revealed that 45% of German believe that Europe’s peace and security are the most important factors behind their decisions in the upcoming election. Merz believes that the Trump ...

He entered politics full-time in 1989, when he was elected to the European Parliament at the age of 33. After serving one term as an MEP, Merz, a married father-of-three, was elected to the ...

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Opposition Leader Friedrich Merz faced off in a final debate on German television on Wednesday ahead of elections next Sunday. During the debate the candidates ...

And since Europe functions best when it has strong Franco-German leadership, how will Mr Merz lead Europe when his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, is a busted flush? All that is reassuring.

The contenders in Germany's election made their final appeals to voters Saturday, with opposition leader and front-runner Friedrich Merz vowing to revive the stagnant economy and defend Europe's ...