After Trump congratulates AfD: Merz postpones phone call with US president

afp/rtr | Chancellor Friedrich Merz has postponed a phone call with US President Donald Trump planned for Wednesday. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius did not give a reason for this. However, he indicated that it was not due to scheduling conflicts. The background to the postponement is likely to be the US President's congratulations to the AfD on its election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. Trump had written on his Truth Social platform: “Wow, the populist party in Germany had a really big night.” He concluded his text with the abbreviation “MGGA!!!” – which “Make Germany Great Again” probably means.

It is considered very unusual for heads of state and government of democratic countries to comment on regional elections in other countries. The right-wing US government under Trump has already expressed sympathy for the AfD on several occasions.

The Merz/Trump conversation was planned to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001 in the USA. Kornelius said it was important to the Chancellor that the USA could continue to count on the full solidarity of Germany and Europe. The transatlantic partnership was renewed at the NATO summit in Ankara.

The parliamentary managing director of the SPD, Dirk Wiese, had previously demanded a reaction from the federal government to Trump's statements: "We have to talk about it," he said. "This interference is not possible. I don't think we as the federal government can tolerate that." Wiese compared Trump's actions to the federal government welcoming a Democratic victory in one of the states in the gubernatorial election. “I think then Truth Social would be shaken by the US President.”

The federal government has rejected US President Donald Trump's statements about the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. “We Germans decide for ourselves how we deal with migration and also who we vote for,” said the Federal Government’s Transatlantic Coordinator, Metin Hakverdi (SPD), to the Tagesspiegel (Thursday edition). “We don’t need advice from the White House.”