Emmanuel Macron is credited for anticipating many developments in the international context, and for France's ability to preserve a freedom of action that is unique in Europe.
There is now another figure who shares this approach: Friedrich Merz.
Following in the footsteps of the great Francophile European Wolfgang Schäuble and drawing on his long personal experience, the man who will become the new Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany on 6 May has great ambitions for his country and is not afraid to break with traditional policies that have hitherto been considered sacrosanct.
Even before taking office, he succeeded in getting the Bundestag to vote in favour of a draft programme that is reflected in the coalition agreement he signed with the Social Democrats. It will allow €100 billion in investment in public infrastructure and defence by lifting the constitutional taboo on the so-called ‘debt brake’, which limited the deficit to 0.35% of gross domestic product.
These measures should have a strong positive impact on the German economy, which has been in recession for two years, and therefore on the entire European economy, which is struggling to grow. This is good news.
In addition, Friedrich Merz is determined to lead his country out of the strategic impasse in which it has long found itself. He has acknowledged the lasting shift away from the United States, under whose military umbrella Germany had refused to consider its own security and that of the continent. He intends to commit to European strategic autonomy, and the Russian war in Ukraine and the American withdrawal offer him the opportunity to do so.
The clarity of his opposition to Russia's attempts to destabilise German democracy has led him to adopt a clear stance towards the aggressor in Ukraine.
Finally, Friedrich Merz is a true European and a staunch supporter of Franco-German relations. He will find a reliable ally in Paris to carry out this agenda. He is expected in Brussels to revive the German voice, which has been dormant for so long.
We can expect his appointment to reignite the Franco-German engine, which this time will extend to security issues.
The scale of the internal challenges facing him – the rise of extremism, immigration, and the economic slowdown – coincides with European policies that need to be strengthened through concrete cooperation, whatever the methods. If he succeeds in tackling these challenges, we will be able to say that ‘Germany is back’ and even extend this slogan to ‘Europe is back’.
