German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her strongest message yet that Europe is drifting apart from the United States under President Donald Trump. Speaking at a campaign rally in Munich, Merkel came to the stark conclusion that Europe’s alliances that have held together much of the West after World War II “are to some extent over. This is what I have experienced in the last few days.” Although Merkel never mentioned Trump by name there was little doubt she referred to him in the speech in which she also said that Brexit meant Europe could no longer count on its traditional allies.
“And that is why I can only say that we Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands—of course in friendship with the United States of America, in friendship with Great Britain and as good neighbors wherever that is possible also with other countries, even with Russia,” Merkel said in a beer tent at a campaign event. “But we have to know that we must fight for our future on our own, for our destiny as Europeans.”
Merkel’s words come shortly after Trump was in Europe for a NATO and G-7 summit, where he criticized some of America’s most traditional allies. The U.S. president criticized NATO for failing to spend enough on defense and at one point characterized Germany’s trade surplus as “very bad.” Trump also annoyed several leaders in the region, including Merkel, for his refusal to endorse the Paris climate change agreement.
Richard Haass, the head of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote on Twitter that Merkel’s speech was “a watershed” that the “US has sought to avoid since WW2.”
The chancellor’s address illustrates how much Britain and the United States have hurt their international standing in recent months. The Economist explains:
Foreigners often get Mrs Merkel all wrong. She is not the queen of Europe, nor has she any desire to be it. She is a domestic leader and politician whose mounting international stature is always a function of her ability to serve the interests and predilections of German voters. It is predominantly because Germans, for deep historical and cultural reasons, feel so “European” that that she talks and acts in a “European” way. Perhaps all the more for this, Mrs Merkel’s comments today illustrate how much Trumpandbrexit has hurt America and Britain in the past months. They have made it not just possible but also electorally beneficial for a friendly leader of a crucial partner to bash them in public. And more than that: to do it with sincerity.
For now, polls show Merkel is likely to be re-elected to a fourth term as chancellor in September.
