institute of europe
the institute of europe of the russian academy of sciences
Analytical paper IE RAS No 17, 2025 «The First Government Statement of Friedrich Merz: Self-Legitimation and Mobilization»
- 16 May 2025
IE RAS presents Analytical papers of IE RAS No 17, 2025 «The First Government Statement of Friedrich Merz: Self-Legitimation and Mobilization» (in Russian) by Vladislav Belov, Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Deputy Director, Head of the Department for Countries Studies, Head of the Center for German Studies, IE RAS.
This article analyzes the first government statement of Germany’s new Federal Chancellor, Friedrich Merz. The author interprets Merz’s speech, delivered on 14 May 2025 in the Bundestag, as an act of political self-legitimation and attempt to define a new trajectory for both Germany’s foreign and domestic policies. The speech clearly marks a shift by the head of the black-red coalition from post-crisis responsiveness to the rhetoric of strength, responsibility, and locomotive leadership of the Federal Republic in the European and transatlantic context. Special attention is paid to Berlin’s foreign policy signals directed at the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and its member states, China, and Russia; to institutional innovations (National Security Council, Bundeswehr reform); to economic transformation; and to a new migration paradigm. The author argues that Russia is no longer treated as a subject of German foreign policy but is instead reframed as a constant background threat. The government statement functions both as a roadmap for mobilization and as a stress test for the new Cabinet’s institutional capacity.
