Could Friedrich Merz be the European leader we've been waiting for?

On Tuesday at a low-key session of the Bundestag, the new leader of Europe will be sworn in.

- Steve Bloomfield

Technically, Friedrich Merz will merely become Germany’s 10th postwar chancellor. But at a moment when a divided and panicked Europe is trying to work out its role in a world where it can no longer rely on the US, there is a hope - even from those traditionally wary of German power - that the leader of the rightwing Christian Democrats can fill a void.

“People have missed German leadership,” says Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Germany under Merz, “has real potential to bring the EU together”.

Most importantly, Merz appears to understand that the world has changed, and therefore Europe needs to change with it. Merz is an arch-Atlanticist, but on the night of his election in February he made clear that a Donald Trump-led America is no longer Europe's ally.

“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said. “I never thought I would have to say something like this... But it is clear that the Americans... are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.”

While Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer are stuck in a self-made bind, talking vaguely about a changing world while also trying to stay on Trump's good side, Merz has embraced his inner Carney. And that is what Europe needs.