2 days ago
Inside Germany: How Merz handled his trip to the White House and one last spring holiday
Inside Germany is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in Germany that you might've missed. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Merz in the White House
You've got to wonder how German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was feeling this week after his big day in the spotlight on the international stage was largely eclipsed by news about a falling out between US President Donald Trump and his former right-hand man Elon Musk.
Merz
did meet the US President in the White House
-- first for a televised conversation in which the Chancellor gave Trump a copy of the birth certificate of his grandfather Frederick who was born in Germany in 1869. Merz then suggested that Trump was the "key person in the world" with influence that could be used to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump, in turn, made several off-colour remarks: comparing Russia's war of aggression to children fighting, and later, referring to the anniversary of a turning point in the Second World War in Germany, asking, "That was not a pleasant day for you?"
To his credit, Merz appeared to play the statesman successfully. It was reported that the German chancellor had studied videos of previous Oval Office ambushes and planned to stay calm and let Trump talk -- and indeed that's mostly what he did. He did correct Trump on a point about Ukraine, and in response to the baffling comment about WWII, he simply said: "This was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship. We know what we owe you."
Following the meeting, which also included a private chat over lunch, Merz has said he has "no doubt at all" that the US will stick with NATO going forward. He also voiced optimism about Trump being open to negotiating a deal around US-EU trade, which could potentially mitigate tariffs that are set to increase next month. But whether Merz's optimism is warranted remains to be seen. If Trump were to change his mind about NATO, trade and the war in it wouldn't be the first time.
Following his long day with the President, Merz did a series of interviews in English with various media outlets. In one interview with
Fox News,
he used an uncouth turn of phrase and implied that antisemitism in Germany was primarily a problem imported
by the immigrant population
.
The remark is perhaps a perfect example of Merz's dizzying ability to criticise far-right extremist politics in Germany and parrot its rhetoric in the same breath.
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Germany prepares for the
Pfingsten
holiday
Sunday is Pentecost, or Whit Sun, or sorry...
wir sind in Deutschland, es ist Pfingsten.
The holiday on Sunday extends into a public holiday on Monday, and plenty of people in Germany surely have plans for what is the last long holiday weekend until reunification day in October.
If you haven't made plans yet, you might consider the
Meistertrunk
Show in Rothernburg, or the
Karneval der Kulturen
in Berlin, as reporter Tom Pugh suggested in our guide to
what's open and closed for the holiday.
Or, if you plan to use the extra day to drive elsewhere in Europe, you can save a few euros by
checking how fuel prices compare over the border
.
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But whatever you do, make sure to stock up on your groceries by Saturday at the latest -- remember that most stores and businesses will be shut on both Sunday and Monday.
And with that, we're off for the weekend as well. Enjoy!
