Merz's silence in the face of Trump's criticism in Spain leaves Germans perplexed

BerlinThe public silence of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the face of the recent Criticism and threats from US President Donald Trump in Spain Not only has it outraged the Spanish government, but it has also perplexed the Germans. The question being asked by the German press these days is: should the Chancellor have defended Spain against Trump? Should he have responded on camera, or was he right to defend Spain afterward, behind closed doors?

During a joint press conference at the White House this Tuesday, Trump barely let the Chancellor speak, but praised him for his support of the war against Iran and on other issues. The US president criticized Spain and the United Kingdom in Merz's presence. Trump threatened to impose a trade embargo in Spain after the Spanish government refused to authorize the use of the Morón (Seville) and Rota (Cádiz) bases by the US military for military operations against Iran.

The chancellor not only failed to publicly defend Spain, but openly endorsed Trump's criticism of the Spanish government for refusing to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, as demanded by the United States. Merz promised the US president that he would try to convince Spain to reach the defense spending level agreed upon by NATO. "Spain is the only country that doesn't want to accept it," the chancellor reminded him.

The left-wing party Die Linke lamented that the chancellor merely acted as Trump's "sidekick" in the Oval Office, while the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Merz's coalition partner, defended the American's "pragmatism" in dealing with the situation.

"Friedrich Merz allowed himself to be used as Trump's sidekick in the Oval Office: three minutes of speech and thirty minutes of nodding his head. It was an undignified performance, but above all, fruitless," criticized Left Party MP Lea Reisner, the foreign policy spokesperson for Die Linke.

In contrast, the SPD defended Merz against criticism from Spain: "The Chancellor managed to clarify the situation," said Metin Hakverdi, a Social Democratic politician specializing in foreign policy.

Attacks on the German press

"Trump harshly attacks an EU country; Merz partially agrees," the newspaper headline read. The World"Mistake with consequences: Merz's incomprehensible reaction to Trump's angry speech," the newspaper highlighted. Tagesspiegel

"Merz has failed in Europe," opined journalist Steffen Lüdke in the magazine SpiegelLüdke, who considered the Chancellor's performance in the Oval Office "shameful," emphasized, "He cannot lead Europe like this. First the United States, then the EU. That was the Chancellor's stance in Washington. Germany sided with the bully, not the victim."

In contrast, the magazine Focus She believes that during his visit to the White House, Merz "opted to minimize risks with Donald Trump." "Will his strategy work? Would an open exchange of blows have been more heroic? But no one knows what side effects this would have had for transatlantic stability," warned journalist Tanit Koch. "Wouldn't it be desirable, therefore, for not only Viktor Orbán, the EU divisive figure, to have the attention of the US president, but also Merz?" she wondered, and considered: "Time will tell if the plan works and at what political cost."

Merz's Justification

After the meeting with Trump, the chancellor told reporters that he did not defend Spain in the Oval Office because he "did not want to delve deeper into the debate publicly or, perhaps, aggravate it." But he asserted that he later defended Spain to Trump behind closed doors. "I told him the following: first of all, Spain is a member of the European Union and, as such, we will only negotiate a customs agreement with the United States jointly, or we will not negotiate it at all. There is no way to treat Spain in a particularly unfavorable manner now," he explained.

Merz's public silence regarding Trump's criticism of Spain caused unease within the Spanish government and sparked a diplomatic storm between Madrid and Berlin. The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, expressed surprise at the chancellor's lack of "solidarity" and said he was convinced that this situation would not have occurred with the Christian Democrat Angela Merkel and the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz.

Despite diplomatic tensions in Madrid and Berlin, "one thing is for sure: holidays in Mallorca are not in danger!" "Relations between Spain and Germany have improved, but they are not in a structural crisis," the magazine reassures. Focus to the Germans.