Merz: The Anti-Politician Europe Desperately Needs

Germans do not understand his value, but history books will because he ain't leaving them any choice.

Germany hasn't been hit as hard by the MAGA-style nativist wave that's swept the United States, France, and the UK. They're running slightly behind the big three on that front. But they've certainly caught the media-negativity bug.

Nothing seems to satisfy the German public anymore. I haven't seen any world leader capable of thinking as deeply as Merz—drilling down to root causes, then systematically dismantling the obstacles that block progress.

To use a wartime analogy: Merz first identifies what needs to be done, then locates the source of the problem, plants a precise charge at that source, waits for it to detonate, and only then moves in for the cleanup. It's about clarity, playing the long game, and patience.

Compare that to Macron and Starmer—leaders who step in when the car goes off track. Credit where it's due: Starmer played a vital role after the February 28th crisis that nearly shattered the transatlantic alliance, holding it together during an extremely vulnerable period. Macron has stepped up at crucial moments too.

But notice the pattern? They only act at key moments—when things go sideways or are about to.

Merz is the mechanic who checks the tires before the car leaves the pit and keeps his eyes on the race, anticipating the next repair. There's clarity in that approach. And patience.

Here's a perfect example. Just one month after the German election ended—and a full month before the coalition voted Merz in as chancellor—he'd already gotten his party and the SPD to agree it was time to go after the arsonists: the Putin loyalists operating inside the EU.

On March 31, 2025, I wrote:

To break the EU’s deadlock, Germany’s incoming government is pushing for a structural shift: expanding qualified majority voting in the Council, especially on key foreign and security issues like sanctions. That would sideline the veto power that Orbán and others have weaponized — and finally allow the EU to act like the geopolitical force it claims to be.

I won’t pretend to hide my enthusiasm.

What we’re witnessing is nothing short of historic: the two leading parties in Germany uniting to deliver the kind of reform the EU has needed for years. If they succeed in scrapping the unanimity rule for major decisions, it will end the cycle of endless delays and the corrosive practice of rogue leaders using their veto to extract political concessions.

Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that twelve countries—Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Romania, Slovenia, Luxembourg, France, Finland, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark—have begun working toward qualified majority voting in foreign policy.

Currently, most decisions in the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) require unanimous consent, meaning even one country can block progress. With support from Germany's two major political parties, the EU is now moving to remove that requirement.

It's not a done deal yet, but I believe they'll get this through soon. This will strip Orbán, Fico, and other Putin enablers in the EU of their power to slow down or block progress.

The list of accomplishments Merz has racked up in such a short period is formidable:

1. He removed the debt brake, allowing Germany to massively invest in defense and infrastructure.

2. Working with the SPD, he's pushing the EU to change the rules and eliminate veto power.

3. He accelerated deployment of a German brigade to Vilnius, Lithuania—a location considered more vulnerable than the Suwalki corridor.

4. When the Pentagon paused weapons deliveries to Ukraine on July 4th, Merz was on the phone with Trump within hours, requesting Patriot air-defense systems for Germany. A pivotal moment that I believe broke the dam in favor of the allies.

5. He was first to predict after the EU-US summit that Putin wouldn't meet with Zelensky. He said it within two days of the meeting. Putin duly refused.

The whole reason I'm writing this today is because of a comment Merz made yesterday at a meeting in Bonn.

"We are making every effort to put an end to this terrible war. But all our efforts in recent weeks have met with an even more aggressive reaction from the Moscow regime against the Ukrainian people. And this will not stop until we make it so that Russia cannot continue this war, at least for economic reasons. Perhaps also for military reasons, but in any case for economic reasons," said Chancellor Merz.

Tell me something—have you ever heard a world leader say sanctions matter more than weapons? Never. That's the one position Western leaders carefully avoided saying to the public, because once you say that, then inevitable questions—why aren't you doing more?—will follow. Sanctions were, are, and will be the key to stopping the Russian war machine.

When the Trump administration took over, I didn't write about getting more weapons to Ukraine. I argued that sanctions would remain the key, not weapons.

Flip that argument, and you'll see exactly what Merz is saying now: sanctions come before weapons in defeating the Russian war machine. It was true at the war's start, it's true today, and it will be true at its end.

But when did we last hear a world leader state that truth so bluntly? Merz is no Winston Churchill—that man was a propagandist in his own right. But unlike other leaders, Merz tells his people the truth. If we don't respect that, then we deserve nothing but slick movers, shakers, and liars.

If this analysis resonates with you, join thousands of readers who believe informed citizens are democracy's best defense. Subscribe to The Concis for deep-dives that mainstream media won't give you.

Let's protect the democracies, together.