Newly appointed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz began his first foreign trip on Wednesday with visits to Paris and Warsaw, aiming to reinforce Berlin’s commitment to European cooperation after a rocky start to his tenure, Bloomberg reports.
Merz, 69, who leads a coalition between his conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats, is seeking to steady his leadership after a historic setback in Tuesday’s Bundestag vote. In a rare post-World War II occurrence, he failed to secure enough votes from his own coalition lawmakers in the first attempt to assume office. He ultimately succeeded in a second round of voting after hours of political uncertainty, but the initial defeat exposed the fragility of his coalition’s 12-seat majority in the lower house of parliament.
Despite the turbulence, Merz struck a determined tone.
“Germany is taking responsibility again — not loudly, but reliably. Not arrogantly, but in a spirit of partnership,” he wrote on social media, posting a photo as he boarded the government aircraft bound for Paris and Warsaw.
His meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will focus on pressing international issues, including the war in Ukraine, US trade tariffs under President Donald Trump, and European migration policy. The trip is seen as an effort to reassure Germany’s allies that the new government remains committed to European stability and global engagement.
Merz also told German public broadcaster ZDF that he plans to speak with President Trump by phone on Thursday. He expressed concern over reported support from some members of the US administration for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The AfD, which placed second in February’s federal election and currently leads in some national polls, was last week designated a right-wing extremist movement by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency — a decision the party is now challenging in court.
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