Germany’s likely next chancellor wants to reboot ties with France, do a free-trade deal with Donald Trump and get tougher on China and Russia.

I wonder whether in June we will still be talking about NATO in its current form, or whether we will have to create an independent European defense structure much sooner,” Merz said. He noted that he had never previously considered such a position,

Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces economic and diplomatic crises.

Germany’s mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won the country’s national election, ensuring that Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the European Union’s largest country and

Nahal Toosi is POLITICO’s senior foreign affairs correspondent. She has reported on war, genocide and political chaos in a career that has taken her around the world. Germans delivered a major election win to conservatives Sunday — but the likely incoming chancellor may face trouble sooner than he’d like, for reasons foreign and domestic.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic and diplomatic crises in ...

Friedrich Merz, a man who has never held a government role, is preparing to take the reins in Germany just as the country faces its biggest economic ... But world leaders may have to wait ...