German Chancellor Merz postpones phone call with US President Trump

A crisis has erupted between Germany and the US over the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's phone call with US President Donald Trump, scheduled for the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, has been postponed. German Government Spokesperson Stefan Kornelius announced at a press conference in Berlin that the call between Merz and Trump had been postponed, stating, "Chancellor Merz had planned a phone call with US President Trump today. However, the German side has postponed this phone call."

Despite persistent questions from journalists, Kornelius did not disclose the reason for the postponement and noted that a new date for the call has not yet been set. Kornelius stated that the postponement was not due to a scheduling conflict between the two leaders.

AfD allegations in the German press

Reports in the German press, citing government sources, allege that the electoral victory of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is behind the postponement of the Merz-Trump call. The reports suggest that the reason Chancellor Merz postponed the call was a social media post by US President Trump regarding the AfD's victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election. In the post in question, US President Trump described the AfD finishing first in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament election as a "very great success."

Trump also stated that the AfD is on the rise, commenting, "The populist party AfD in Germany has achieved a very great success. They are finally tired of those extremely terrible immigration rules and regulations that are causing great harm to Germany." Trump ended his post with the abbreviation MGGA. The German media interpreted this abbreviation as "Make Germany Great Again."

The German public broadcaster ZDF used the headline "US President pleased with election results: German Government angered by Trump's support for AfD" in its report on the postponement of the Merz-Trump call.

News Source: 12punto