Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has hit out at Donald Trump and Elon Musk following his election win, saying Europe needs to achieve independence from the US “as soon as possible.”
On Sunday, Merz’s conservatives won the German general election, finishing in first with 28.6 per cent of the vote.
This means Merz is set to become the next German chancellor, with the conservatives likely to form a governing coalition with the Social Democrats, who finished third.
In the build-up to the election, the far-right AfD, who finished second, were vocally backed by both the Trump administration and Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, European leaders have been shaken in recent weeks by Trump’s lack of support for Ukraine in their war with Russia.
All of this prompted Merz to hit out at both Trump and Musk following his win, calling for Europe to strengthen as “quickly as possible so that we achieve independence from the US.”
He said: “I am communicating closely with a lot of prime ministers, and heads of EU states and for me it is an absolute priority to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible, so that we achieve independence from the US, step by step…
“I never thought that I would ever need to say something like that, on television, but after the latest statements made by Donald Trump last week, it is clear, that the Americans — at any case these Americans, this administration — mostly don’t care about the fate of Europe one way or another.”
Merz went on to condemn Musk’s interference in the election as well, saying that the “interventions from Washington were no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less brazen than the intervention we have seen from Moscow.”
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