From Berlin to Mar-a-Lago by Sabine Fischer
In a twist worthy of political theatre’s darkest comedies, Friedrich Merz, the man once touted as a center-right stabilizer for Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has pivoted not just to the right, but straight off the geopolitical cliff, into the arms of a man whose vocabulary contains fewer words than a Berlin kebab menu. That man, of course, is Donald Trump. Yes, that Trump. The same man who threatens to buy/invade Greenland, who has declare that he hates the EU and slowly but steadily dismantles US democracy. And yet, Merz has gone from cautiously disagreeing with Trumpism to now humming along to “Make America Great Again” like a karaoke tragic at a Bavarian beer fest. Friedrich Merz, heir apparent to the legacy of Angela Merkel, the steely pragmatist who steered Europe through the financial crisis, the refugee crisis, and the tantrums of populism, has instead decided that the best course of action in this precarious global moment is to cosplay as a Mar-a-Lago enthusia...
