The opposition in the Bundestag has asked Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) to realign his policies toward the United States, but they disagree on how Germany should present itself to U.S. President Donald Trump.
AfD leader Alice Weidel told the “FAZ” that disputes among allies should be “internally discussed”. She said mutual public accusations are “not very helpful”. In contrast, the Greens’ foreign‑policy spokesperson for the Bundestag, Deborah Düring, praised Merz for finally recognizing the need for clear words toward Trump. She added that a “new transatlantic strategy” must follow.
Both politicians referred to Merz’s remarks at the “FAZ” Congress last Friday. There, the Chancellor criticized Trump for not speaking with him about German support in the Iran war beforehand, but instead approaching the issue “through the newspapers afterward”. Merz said that conduct is unacceptable and that it will not happen again.
Trump, meanwhile, publicly criticized Merz over the weekend, saying, “Friedrich, the German Chancellor, said: ‘This is not our war, we have nothing to do with it,'” during a business forum in Miami that focused on Iran. Trump complained about the lack of support from NATO partners, stating that while the Ukraine war is not “our war” the U.S. has helped Ukraine.
Left Party parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann found Merz’s statement at the “FAZ” Congress “irritating”. He questioned what Merz might be implying: “Is he suggesting that if he had been asked by Trump beforehand, he would now send German troops into the chaos in the Strait of Hormuz?”
Merz also received support from a coalition partner. SPD deputy group chair Siemtje Möller told the “FAZ” that it is “absolutely correct” for Germany to assert its own position. She, however, criticized Merz’s previous foreign‑policy approach, saying that the strategy of flattering Trump in hopes of a special treatment clearly did not succeed.