Merz the international diplomat?

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz succeeded in showing a united European front on the war in Ukraine. But is he as popular at home as abroad?

Dear Reader,

Following the Alaska “peace summit” last Friday, where US President Donald Trump literally rolled out a red carpet for Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not waste any words… or time.

“We would all like to see a ceasefire,” Merz said in response to the first meeting between a western leader and the Russian autocrat since he invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago. The chancellor was referring to Europe’s long-standing demand that the guns fall silent before the warring parties meet to thrash out the details of a peace agreement. That demand had been dropped by Trump during the summit, a move that was widely interpreted as caving in to the Kremlin’s position.

Merz cut short his holiday plans and helped rally the Koalition der Willigen (coalition of the willing) with top EU leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — a response that underlined Germany’s changing role in the world, as Berlin moved from cautious observer to active coordinator in an increasingly fractured transatlantic alliance.

Together, they arranged to meet Trump in Washington on Monday — the fastest organised American-European delegation since the Iraq war.

With no government aircraft available on such short notice, Merz flew from Munich to Washington in a small Airbus A319 - a move that necessitated a pit stop in Glasgow. His mission: align Europe, Ukraine, and the US, while keeping Trump from drifting too far into Moscow’s orbit.

High stakes without high tensions

During his inaugural visit to the White House in June, the newly-minted Chancellor pulled off a pleasant visit with Trump, but was criticised by the German press afterwards for placating the president without making enough progress.

At the time, Merz stressed that Trump has a key role to play in ending the war, but fell short of making specific demands of the famously prickly US president. Adhering to the president’s love of praise and presents, he even brought along a gold-framed facsimile of his grandfather Friedrich Trump's German birth certificate.

This visit was different. While Merz also indulged in the flattery that has become typical of meetings between European leaders and Trump, he was also the first to lay out a clear demand.

"I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire," Merz said, openly contradicting Trump, who had argued that Putin and Zelensky could meet without a ceasefire being agreed.

"So, let's work on that and let's try to put pressure on Russia," Merz added.

He also argued that it was unrealistic to expect Zelensky to negotiate directly with Putin — a move supported by both Trump and some EU leaders — while civilians were still being killed by Russian attacks.

Asked if Germany might send peacekeepers to Ukraine, Merz said he was open to it if a ceasefire were in place, but first wanted to consult with European partners and his coalition government. He added that even with a peace deal, Germany would continue providing military aid to Ukraine.

What did Merz achieve?