Whether he can form a strong coalition remains to be seen, but whatever he does will be an essential part of Europe’s response to President Trump’s reshuffling of alliances.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservatives were on course for a lackluster victory in a national election Sunday, while Alternative for Germany nearly doubled its support, the

Friedrich Merz will be the next chancellor of Germany. And he still can’t tell what his government program will be. His conservative alliance received around 29% of the vote in Sunday’s snap general election,