Germany’s likely new chancellor has welcomed Keir Starmer’s interest in resetting relations with the European Union after Brexit, The Independent reports.
Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s centre-right Conservative Party (CDU), will become the country’s new chancellor after preliminary results confirmed his conservatives’ victory in national elections.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday after his victory, Merz said:
“I very much welcome the fact that Great Britain is once again seeking proximity to Europe, to the European Union.”
He also added that they had spoken several times over the past few weeks.
Earlier on Monday, Keir congratulated Mertz and his party on their victory.
“I look forward to working with the new government to deepen our already strong relationship, enhance our joint security and deliver growth for both our countries,” the Prime Minister wrote on his official X account.
Time is running out for Europe’s biggest economy, with Germans divided over migration and the country’s security caught between a confrontational US and an assertive Russia and China.
Merz’s conservative bloc wants to team up with Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), who finished third after the Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place.
The CDU leader also questioned the reliability of the United States as an ally after similar comments on Sunday night.
He said Europeans should unite quickly and organise their own defence capabilities rather than relying solely on Washington. “… It’s really five minutes to midnight for Europe.”
On Sunday, Mertz warned Washington not to cause division by offering preferential tariffs to some members of the European Union. Britain’s Liberal Democrats backed the calls from Germany’s likely new chancellor, adding that Merz had said “quiet part out loud.”
Caroline Voaden, a Liberal Democrat MP who was the party’s leader in the 2019/20 European Parliament, told The Independent:
“Germany’s new Chancellor has said the quiet part out loud: Europe can no longer rely on America for its security and must forge its own path. Let us hope the Prime Minister was listening. Since our election, Labour has been tentative about reestablishing closer ties with Europe, but the events of the past week must provide the impetus to speed these negotiations up.”
