German leadership: Gone for good or just resting?

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Searching for Deutschland, a new podcast by ECFR exploring the European and foreign policy dimensions of the German election on February 23rd. Hosts Jeremy Cliffe and Jana Puglierin join Mark Leonard, ECFR’s director, for a World in 30 Minutes crossover to discuss their plans for the coming weeks and the premise of the podcast, namely: has Germany gone missing from its European leadership role?

The hosts also discuss Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate of the centre-right CDU party and front-runner to lead Germany’s next government. What are Merz’s foreign policy influences and instincts? What will this mean for Germany’s role in Europe and the world?

The Merz doctrine: What a CDU-led government would mean for German foreign policy by Jeremy Cliffe and Jana Puglierin