The AfD has used Merz’s flip flop on the debt brake against him and is questioning defense spending on Ukraine.
Upon taking office in May 2025, a little over a year ago, Merz promised to revive Germany’s stagnant economy and increase defense spending to position the country as Europe’s de facto military leader. An antagonistic Russia and an unreliable America have left Germany with few alternatives. German businesses are suffering with high costs, American tariffs and intensifying competition from China.
Merz also made another defining promise: to beat back the AfD and restore the centrist CDU’s claim to being the true conservative party in…
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