Germany’s Merz: I wouldn’t advise my children to live in US
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was speaking at a talk with youth during the 104th German Catholic Convention (Katholikentag) on May 15.
PHOTO: EPA
BERLIN – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on May 15 said he would advise his children against living or studying in the United States at the moment, citing a rapidly changing social climate and limited opportunities even for the highly educated.
The remarks highlight tensions between the US and its European allies under President Donald Trump, with disputes over trade and the wars in Ukraine and now Iran putting the NATO alliance under strain.
Mr Merz in April said the US was being humiliated in the Iran war, angering Mr Trump. Days later, Washington announced a partial troop withdrawal from Germany and tariff hikes on European Union cars, a sector in which Germany is strong.
Speaking to a young audience at a Catholic convention in Wuerzburg, Mr Merz said people were too prone to think in “disaster mode” about the state of the world and urged Germans to feel more optimistic about their own country’s potential.
“I firmly believe that there are few countries in the world that offer such great opportunities, especially for young people, as Germany,” he said.
“I wouldn’t recommend that my children go to the US today, get their education there, and work there, simply because a social climate has suddenly developed there,” said Mr Merz, a 70-year-old father of three.
“Today, the best-educated people in America have great difficulty finding a job.”
Mr Merz took office in 2025 as a self-professed transatlanticist but has since criticised Germany’s most powerful ally.
Mr Trump, in turn, said Mr Merz should focus on fixing his own “broken country”.
“I am a great admirer of America,” Mr Merz told his audience. “My admiration isn’t growing at the moment,” he said to laughter and applause. REUTERS
