Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union candidate for chancellor, speaks at a campaign event in Stromberg, Germany, on Friday. (Thomas Frey/DPA/AP) BERLIN — Angst (a German word ...

Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become Germany’s next leader, is “highly concerned” about recent developments in the United States under Donald Trump’s second presidency. The German chancellor ...

Mr Merz insists that Germany has no choice but to change. “The business model of this country is gone,” he states bluntly. His response begins with a war on red tape in Brussels and Berlin.