Why his criticism is problematic

As Chancellor, Friedrich Merz must know that his words will not be taken as private opinions. This time too, they spread across the planet within a few minutes. And of course also in the USA. Even newspapers like the Financial Times and news agencies like Bloomberg and Reuters are now writing about it. This renewed Merz attack will not go unnoticed by the American president either. The Chancellor had just boasted that he had had a good telephone conversation with Trump about Iran.

Here, too, one could give the Chancellor credit for the fact that Trump has already attacked him on a much more personal level. The US President repeatedly accused Merz of making bad policies for Germany and of driving the economy to the wall. But the Chancellor is diplomatically unwise. With his ill-advised statements, he is destroying the president’s favor, which is already in jeopardy. Merz shouldn’t kowtow, but he also shouldn’t provoke without reason. This is the opposite of statesmanlike. Merz risks the next diplomatic fiasco.

Ultimately, discouraging young people from going to the USA is the fundamentally wrong approach. As a tourist, you might say to yourself at the moment: Maybe I’d rather go on vacation to another country. But when it comes to educational, professional or professional exchange, Germans should travel to America right now. Maintaining relationships is more important than ever, not just despite Donald Trump, but because of him. The reason is precisely the social climate that Merz addresses.

Because at least half of this country works differently than the current White House. It may seem surprising, but there are many Americans who are extremely grateful for solidarity in these times. Anyone who advises staying away now sounds as if they have already given up on the USA. This is a very bad idea for purely strategic reasons. Given what the US has done for Germany, it is also a devastating signal among democracies. And it underestimates the importance of personal, transatlantic exchange. Actually, Merz should say: Especially now!

With such statements, the Chancellor is not only sabotaging German interests. But also the unceasing efforts of numerous foundations, exchange programs and other institutions that do not allow German-American relations to break down during this complicated time. Merz also counteracts the federal government’s strategy with his anti-USA advice. They simply seem absurd when you know that his Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is calling on members of the Bundestag to please travel to the USA as much as possible in order to use every political straw that comes along.

What Friedrich Merz wants to achieve with his statements about the USA is unclear. But what he is definitely achieving is damaging the country’s interests. but harm. There is more at stake than Trump’s announced withdrawal of 5,000 troops. It’s about European security and European prosperity. And for the leader of a coalition that has so far achieved little other than dispute, the Chancellor should be more concerned with the situation in his own country than picking on America.