Chris Bryant, Columnist

Merz and Trump Have Awoken Slumbering Germany

Berlin is finally stepping up and the new chancellor has made a strong start.

June 6, 2025 at 6:12 AM UTC

Chris Bryant is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for the Financial Times.

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Following the collapse of Germany’s dysfunctional three-party coalition in November, then conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz vowed that he’d transform the country from “a sleeping middle power” to a “leading” one should he become chancellor.

Judging by his first month in office, including a successful first White House meeting with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, the 69-year-old former corporate lawyer is well on track. The world once feared a stronger Germany, but now its allies, including the US, should welcome it.