On Wednesday, when he went to Paris and Warsaw for his first official trip abroad, the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not arrive in the favorable position he hoped for.
The leader of the CDU party wanted to send a strong message to his partners. However, it took two voting cycles on Tuesday to be confirmed as head of government, a first in German political history since the Second World War.
As a result, Merz had to face a domestic crisis just before meeting his French and Polish counterparts.
The initial tripping should weigh heavily on Merz's shoulders, because he wants to cause a change in thought in his country. The new German Chancellor wants to make the defense a priority. Since the success of his party's elections in February, Merz defends a strong Germany in a strong Europe which is more independent of the United States – a break with the past for the fervent Atlantist.
The words of Merz concerning the consecrated more resources to the defense and the discussion of the extension of the nuclear deterrence of France are sure to call on the French president Emmanuel Macron.
“Yes, it seems promising, and this is good news because it could not be worse than between Macron and Scholz (the previous chancellor), who did not continue well,” explains Sophie Pornschlegel, assistant director of the Europe Jacques Delors reflection group.
“And so I think that with Merz, who also said that he was going to focus more on international relations and European affairs, we will see a Franco-German renewal,” said Pornschlegel.
However, at this stage, it is not clear if Paris and Berlin can agree on common projects or if the objective is to promote national industry.
“The question will of course be the details, and we will have to see if France abandons being very Franco-Franco-Franco and really does something in Europe, and also to see if Germany can really abandon its transatlantic tradition, which is still very strong, especially among the conservatives,” added Pornschlegel.
Relaunch the Weimar triangle
After Paris, Merz went to Warsaw. Again, the gesture was powerful. Poland is the country of the EU which devotes most of its budget to Defense. This is a point on which the two leaders, who come from the same political family, can get closer.
“Poland is a less obvious partner, I think, for Mertz, but he knows, he understands, I think, very well that it is not enough for France and Germany to direct Europe, that the situation is different, that Europe is different from what it was in the past, and that Poland is also necessary in the context of this European nucleus,” said Piotr Buras, director of the European Council of War Relations (ECFR).
“The fact that he arrives in Poland on the first day of his mandate as Chancellor is, of course, a sign of this increased interest in this bilateral relationship, and I think he will consider Poland as an important partner with equality with France and the Weimar triangle,” added Buras.
The Weimar triangle is a cooperation forum created in 1991 between France, Germany and Poland. It was created at a time when Europe suffered a reorganization after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
But for the Buras, relaunching the European machine through this trio is too simplistic.
“I think that Merz considers France and Poland, perhaps not as equal partners, but as a really important partners for Germany, but he knows that the coalitions of willingly, which will shape the future of Europe, must be more important than that,” he told Euronews.
ADVERTISEMENTMerz's agenda highlights his desire to work at the EU level. Friday, he will meet the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.
