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In the news

Friedrich Merz

Chancellor of Germany · Germany

Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany, wearing glasses, a blue suit and light-blue tie, smiling in front of blurred trees in Erfurt; AI-recomposed version of a 2024 photograph.
Archive portrait · Photo: Steffen Prößdorf (Stepro), CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image credits

In short

Merz's call to fund Ukraine within the seven-year EU budget was rebuffed, according to TASS.1 German press debates whether Merz's pressure on European partners amounts to blackmail or a justified step, with the Dublin summit described as a risky fight against free-riders.23 Der Spiegel says Merz irritates some other Europeans at the summit, and CDU budget leader Andreas Mattfeldt has sent him a warning letter.45 Merz asked Trump for no surprises in talks with Putin, while TASS reports he rejected Russian calls to redesign European security, saying NATO already fills that role.678 Merz says Germany will be a guaranteed participant in Ukraine negotiations, and ANSA quotes him saying Berlin need not discuss the European security architecture.91011 El Mundo reports Merz wants to settle the ECB leadership allocation next week, with Hernández de Cos favoured for the presidency.12

AIMade at 18:36, from 20 headlines of the last 24 hours. Each number links to the source headline. How it is made

Popularity in the polls

Approval of Friedrich Merz (the latest poll in Wikipedia's list)

Last recorded collection: 28/10/2026, 18:05 (Lisbon).Record older than 24 hours; newer data may be available at the source.

Study, data and source-check dates are separate. Last successful source check: 13/11/2026, 18:05 (Lisbon). Last attempt: 13/11/2026, 18:05 (Lisbon). Check completed. An unchanged source does not renew the data date.

26% Approval · 69% Disapproval

YouGov · 25 Mar 2026 · 2,420 interviews · see the poll ↗

This poll is more than 60 days old: no newer one has come out.

Recent polls
PollsterDatesApprovalDisapproval
YouGov25 Mar 202626%69%

In this table, each number is the pollster's own, as published. The rings identify their 30-day average. We do not compare countries, and nothing comes from the headlines. Read from the Wikipedia polling table (CC BY-SA 4.0) with collection scheduled every 3 hours. Last recorded collection: 28/10/2026, 18:05 (Lisbon).Record older than 24 hours; newer data may be available at the source.

see the history and what happened →

Defence

Office

  • Federal Chancellor of Germany since 6 May 2025 · Source

    In peacetime the armed forces are commanded by the defence minister (Basic Law, art. 65a); once a state of defence is declared, command passes to the Chancellor (art. 115b).

Positions and proposals

  • Support for Ukraine

    «I travelled to Kyiv today because Ukraine needs all our support in the coming weeks. If Russia is not stopped, sooner or later its war machine will turn against us.»

    Original in German: Ich bin heute nach Kyjiw gereist, weil die Ukraine für die kommenden Wochen all unsere Unterstützung braucht. Wenn Russland nicht gestoppt wird, richtet sich seine Kriegsmaschinerie früher oder später gegen uns.

    In Kyiv, with Zelensky.

    Statement to the press · 4 Oct 2026 · Source

  • NATO

    «Germany is willing, able and ready to take on more responsibility in a renewed alliance. It is doing its part to make NATO more European so that it can remain transatlantic.»

    Original in German: Deutschland ist willens, fähig und bereit, in einem erneuerten Bündnis mehr Verantwortung zu tragen. Es leistet seinen Teil dazu, die NATO europäischer zu machen, damit sie transatlantisch bleiben kann.

    Laudatory speech when NATO received the Westphalian Peace Prize, in Münster.

    Speech · 1 Oct 2026 · Source

  • Nuclear weapons

    «I have held preliminary talks on European nuclear deterrence with French President Emmanuel Macron.»

    Original in German: Ich habe mit dem französischen Präsidenten Emmanuel Macron erste Gespräche über europäische nukleare Abschreckung aufgenommen.

    Opening the Munich Security Conference; he also said he wants to make the Bundeswehr the strongest conventional army in Europe.

    Speech · 13 Feb 2026 · Source

Alliances

Only what the person said or did, with date and source; Veramundi does not label anyone. Translations were made with the help of AI and reviewed, with the original shown. Sealed list defesa-1. Method

Headlines naming Friedrich Merz

A headline counts when it names this person, using the site's fixed list of names (no AI, no tone). Last 30 days, newest first.

See the other 167 headlines