Merz Criticizes State of US Democracy, Lack of Respect for Rules

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz lamented the decline in respect for the rule of law worldwide, particularly in the US, in an unusually blunt message directed at a key ally.

The US “has changed so fundamentally over the last few years, perhaps decades, that rules are no longer being followed, parliamentary democracy is under pressure, freedom of expression is being called into question, and the independence of the judiciary is being repressed,” Merz told a business conference in Berlin on Friday.