Who is Friedrich Merz? Germany’s Likely Next Leader

Has Trump already become a strategic adversary to Europe? Will Starmer’s White House visit be his ‘Love, Actually’ moment? How can Europe actually become independent from the US? The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Fuse are giving away FREE TRIP+ membership for all of 2025 to new sign ups 🎉 TRIP+ gets you ad-free listening, discounts, and early access to episodes and pre-sale tickets for live shows! To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit GetFuse.com/Politics ⚡ Podcast episode: 375 00:00 Coming Up 00:21 Fuse 02:00 Show Menu 02:45 Germany’s Fight Against the Far Right 17:12 Who is Friedrich Merz? 24:40 Rory vs. Dominic Cummings 26:48 Germany’s New Chancellor? 28:47 Is the U.S. Still an Ally of Europe? 43:11 Can Starmer & Macron Outmaneuver Trump? 47:00 What Does Putin Have on Trump? TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to https://www.therestispolitics.com/ to sign up. ✅ Subscribe Here:    / @restispolitics   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 🎙️ Listen To The Podcast: https://lnk.to/TheRestIsPoliticsYT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 📱 Follow Us On Socials: Facebook:   / restispolitics   Instagram:   / restispolitics   TikTok:   / restispolitics   Twitter:   / restispolitics