Friedrich Merz has been German Chancellor since May 2025. Exactly one year after a first "What Now, Mr. Merz?" on ZDF, he returns for another interview on the "What Now, ...?" format.

Merz publicly wonders if he could have handled Trump better, but doesn’t plan to change his style to be more “polished.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday he would not give up on working with US President Donald Trump,

Trump said D-Day was "not a great day" for Germany. Merz replied the Normandy invasion marked "the liberation of my country from a Nazi dictator.” WASHINGTON −Another day, another startled leader in the Oval Office. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ...

After a perilous blowup with Washington, the chancellor is falling back on the familiar tactic of saying things the U.S. president likes to hear.

The chancellor berated those who view democratic politics through an “instant gratification” lens and refuse to accept a painful truth: after 80 years of peace and 36 years as a united country, modern Germany’s “prosperity illusion will not hold”.

When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was elected in February of last year, he warned the political mainstream that it was “five minutes to midnight” before outside parties consumed the nation’s center.