BERLIN 

Germany's conservative leader Friedrich Merz sharply criticized the Trump administration just hours after his election win Sunday, saying his top priority will be to strengthen Europe and achieve independence from the US.

Speaking in a televised interview, Merz expressed unprecedented criticism of the US, particularly in light of recent statements by President Donald Trump.

"My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that we can achieve, step by step, real independence from the US,” he said, adding he never thought until very recently that he would have to say something like this on a television show.

“But especially after Donald Trump's statements from last week, it's clear that the Americans -- at least this part of America, this administration -- are largely indifferent to Europe's fate,” he said.

The German leader also expressed uncertainty about NATO's future ahead of its June summit.

"I'm very curious to see how we would be heading towards the NATO summit at the end of June, whether we'll even still be talking about NATO in its current form, or whether we need to establish independent European defense capabilities much more quickly," he said.

Merz also drew parallels between interference from Washington and Moscow in European affairs, specifically citing recent interventions by Elon Musk, a close aide to Trump, in the German election campaign.

"The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic, drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we've seen from Moscow," he said.

"We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my absolute priority now is to establish unity in Europe.”

On Sunday evening, conservative leader Merz declared victory in German parliamentary elections after his Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) won nearly 28.5% of the vote, securing a clear lead over other parties. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) faced a historic defeat in the elections, projected to receive 16.3%—the lowest vote share for the center-left party since 1949.

Merz’s remarks came after heightened tensions between the Trump administration and European governments in recent weeks.

US Vice President JD Vance sparked controversy earlier this month when in a speech at the Munich Security Conference, he criticized European governments and political parties for taking a stance against right-wing populist parties, excluding them from political processes.

Following his speech, Vance met with AfD co-chair Alice Weidel in Munich, indicating support just a week before Germany's parliamentary elections on Feb. 23, in a breach of diplomatic norms.

The conference’s organizers did not invite Weidel due to her party's anti-democratic positions.