Sawt Falasteen - Germany's Merz to brave Trump's Oval Office test

A month into his job, the conservative Merz, 69, will try to build a rapport with the mercurial Trump as he seeks to maintain good ties with the country he considers post-war Germany's "indispensable" ally.

He will offer pledges to sharply increase Germany's NATO spending and look for common ground on confronting Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.

On Trump's threat to hammer the European Union with sharply higher tariffs, Merz, leader of the bloc's biggest economy, has argued that it must be self-confident in its negotiations with Washington.

But first Merz must brave the televised rite of passage of an Oval Office meeting with Trump -- whose administration has taken an aggressive stance towards Germany and even backed the far-right there.

Trump, 78, has delivered a series of public dressing downs to foreign leaders in the heart of the White House, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.

The New York Times reported that Trump was set to confront Merz over free speech issues in Germany -- a bugbear the administration has repeatedly brought up with European leaders despite its own record.

- 'Calmness and joy' -

Merz told reporters in Washington ahead of the meeting that if Trump brings up German domestic politics "I will state my opinion very clearly if necessary."

Despite the tensions, Merz said he was "looking forward" to his first face-to-face meeting with Trump.

"Our alliance with America was, is, and remains of paramount importance for the security, freedom, and prosperity of Europe," he posted on X.

The German chancellor is believed to have studied videos of previous Oval Office ambushes and learned how to stay calm and let Trump talk.

Merz is approaching his Trump meeting "with great calmness and joy," his spokesman Stefan Kornelius said, pointing to their "very good relationship" so far.

The two leaders -- both with business backgrounds and keen golf players -- are on first-name terms after several phone calls, Kornelius said, and Merz now has Trump's cellphone number on speed dial.

But whatever the personal chemistry. the issues are potentially explosive.

Trump has lashed out at Germany, and particularly its car industry, among the European nations he accuses of trying to "screw" the United States.

The US president launched his "Liberation Day" tariffs in April and the EU faces levies of 50 percent.

- Far-right support -

On the Ukraine war, where Germany strongly backs Kyiv, Merz will hope to convince Trump to heighten pressure on Putin through new sanctions to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire.

Trump has expressed frustration with Putin, but said sanctions could harm the chances of a truce.

Merz's visit also comes ahead of a G7 summit in Canada on June 15-17 and a NATO meeting in The Hague at the end of the month.

Merz has said Germany is willing to follow a plan to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP over coming years, with another 1.5 percent dedicated to security-related infrastructure.

But a major potential flashpoint is the vocal support Trump and some in his administration have given to the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which came second in February elections.

US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Trump adviser Elon Musk have all weighed in in support of the AfD, which in Germany is shunned by all other political parties.

When Germany's domestic intelligence service recently designated the AfD a "right-wing extremist" group, Rubio denounced the step as "tyranny in disguise."

Merz at the time told the US government to "largely stay out of" German domestic politics.

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P.Tamimi--SF-PST