Henry Foy

The newly elected chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, he's not yet installed as chancellor, but he is the leader of the largest party, and they're in coalition negotiations now, and barring some enormous crisis, he will be chancellor. The night of his election, he said, we can no longer rely on America.

The newly elected chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, he's not yet installed as chancellor, but he is the leader of the largest party, and they're in coalition negotiations now, and barring some enormous crisis, he will be chancellor. The night of his election, he said, we can no longer rely on America.

My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step we can really achieve independence from the United States. And a few days later rolled out this extraordinary spending plan of a trillion euros, which comprises of two big parts. The first is half a trillion euros spent on defense.

My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step we can really achieve independence from the United States. And a few days later rolled out this extraordinary spending plan of a trillion euros, which comprises of two big parts. The first is half a trillion euros spent on defense.

My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that step by step we can really achieve independence from the United States. And a few days later rolled out this extraordinary spending plan of a trillion euros, which comprises of two big parts. The first is half a trillion euros spent on defense.

And the second was a move to essentially de-link defense spending from debt spending, saying it doesn't matter how much we borrow for defense. So just to put this into perspective, the sort of scale of the German pivot on this, the Germans have a word, Schuld. It means debt and it also means guilt. They have linked these two ideas to the extent that having a balanced budget is...

And the second was a move to essentially de-link defense spending from debt spending, saying it doesn't matter how much we borrow for defense. So just to put this into perspective, the sort of scale of the German pivot on this, the Germans have a word, Schuld. It means debt and it also means guilt. They have linked these two ideas to the extent that having a balanced budget is...

And the second was a move to essentially de-link defense spending from debt spending, saying it doesn't matter how much we borrow for defense. So just to put this into perspective, the sort of scale of the German pivot on this, the Germans have a word, Schuld. It means debt and it also means guilt. They have linked these two ideas to the extent that having a balanced budget is...

is sort of part of their national psyche. So for Merz to come in and say, this doesn't matter anymore, what matters is defending Europe, it is a huge moment, not just for Germany, but for all the other countries who look at them and say, wow, if they're getting serious, then we should too. And there's real world benefits here, right?

is sort of part of their national psyche. So for Merz to come in and say, this doesn't matter anymore, what matters is defending Europe, it is a huge moment, not just for Germany, but for all the other countries who look at them and say, wow, if they're getting serious, then we should too. And there's real world benefits here, right?

is sort of part of their national psyche. So for Merz to come in and say, this doesn't matter anymore, what matters is defending Europe, it is a huge moment, not just for Germany, but for all the other countries who look at them and say, wow, if they're getting serious, then we should too. And there's real world benefits here, right?

The German car industry that used to be sort of the symbol of European industrial greatness, exporting all around the world, it's gone through some really hard times recently with high energy prices, with competition from China, with this looming trade war. You're now seeing kind of mothballed car factories being converted or discussions about converting them into tank factories.

The German car industry that used to be sort of the symbol of European industrial greatness, exporting all around the world, it's gone through some really hard times recently with high energy prices, with competition from China, with this looming trade war. You're now seeing kind of mothballed car factories being converted or discussions about converting them into tank factories.

The German car industry that used to be sort of the symbol of European industrial greatness, exporting all around the world, it's gone through some really hard times recently with high energy prices, with competition from China, with this looming trade war. You're now seeing kind of mothballed car factories being converted or discussions about converting them into tank factories.

There are real-life things happening, and at a given time, if this all plays out the way the Europeans hope, you could have a much better European economy as a result of this huge defence boom.

There are real-life things happening, and at a given time, if this all plays out the way the Europeans hope, you could have a much better European economy as a result of this huge defence boom.

There are real-life things happening, and at a given time, if this all plays out the way the Europeans hope, you could have a much better European economy as a result of this huge defence boom.

That's an excellent question. And it's really kind of step two of this whole process. You can spend the money, you can build the arms factories, you can kind of plan for a European defense strategy that doesn't involve the United States Army. But are your societies going to keep up with you? Are they going to keep voting for you while you do that? And for me, I see three big pressure points.

That's an excellent question. And it's really kind of step two of this whole process. You can spend the money, you can build the arms factories, you can kind of plan for a European defense strategy that doesn't involve the United States Army. But are your societies going to keep up with you? Are they going to keep voting for you while you do that? And for me, I see three big pressure points.

That's an excellent question. And it's really kind of step two of this whole process. You can spend the money, you can build the arms factories, you can kind of plan for a European defense strategy that doesn't involve the United States Army. But are your societies going to keep up with you? Are they going to keep voting for you while you do that? And for me, I see three big pressure points.