The mixed messages by U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration about how long the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran will last have unnerved allies and shaken European markets. Two weeks into the conflict, EU capitals are asking when it will end and how they can influence what comes next — none more so than Berlin.
In this week’s episode, host Anne McElvoy talks to a key ally of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen. A longstanding member of the Bundestag, a former chair of its Foreign Affairs Committee and a minister in Angela Merkel’s government, Röttgen is a strong believer in the Atlantic alliance.
He urges European leaders to speak with one voice on the war in Iran — and give qualified backing to the American-led strikes. We Europeans have to put our act together in order to be a relevant actor,” he tells Anne. “We are past the old post-war order. We have not seen the establishment of a new order … and if we are to give up on the United States, we are to give up on the West.”
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