Merz vows "independence" from U.S. after claiming Germany election win

By the numbers: While preliminary results show CDU/CSU won 28.6% of the vote and AfD 20.8%, the conservative alliance has ruled out working with the anti-immigration AfD, as did all other major parties.

• Outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats won 16.4% of the vote and the Greens secured 11.6%, per the preliminary results.

Driving the news: Merz singled out the U.S. in claiming victory, days after Vice President JD Vance accused the Munich Security Conference of not allowing far-right and far-left politicians to attend the annual event in a speech that criticized European allies.

• "My impression over the last few days is that Russia and America are finding common ground — over the heads of Ukraine, and consequently over those of Europe," said the 69-year-old former lawyer Merz, who's previously worked for U.S. law firms, on X.
• "Therefore, everyone is turning their attention to Germany. How quickly are the Germans going to form a government after this complicated election result? For me, this is now a priority."

Zoom in: Merz said on a TV show that his "absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA," according to a translation.

• President Trump's statements on Ukraine last week as the U.S. pushes for talks with Russia make it "clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this administration, are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe," Merz said.

• "I am very curious to see how we are heading toward the NATO summit at the end of June," he added. "Whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to establish an independent European defense capability much more quickly."

What he's saying: Trump on Truth Social called the CDU/CSU win a "great day for Germany," saying: "Much like the USA, the people of Germany got tired of the no common sense agenda, especially on energy and immigration."

• Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Go deeper: Trump's first month turns U.S. foreign policy upside down