German Chancellor cancels Trump call as far-right surge reshapes Europe

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz cancelled a scheduled phone call with Donald Trump after the US president celebrated the AfD's state election victory in Saxony-Anhalt with a post using the slogan "MGGA." Merz also clashed with AfD leader Alice Weidel in the Bundestag, calling her party's remigration policy "ethnic cleansing." The AfD's rise signals a crisis in Germany's traditional political model, as deindustrialisation, energy costs and immigration fuel nationalist sentiment. The "cordon sanitaire" against the far-right is eroding, with parties like BSW open to cooperation. Similar dynamics are playing out across Europe, with Marine Le Pen's presidency in France and nationalist gains in Italy and Spain. These shifts could transform the EU from a project of common integration into a confederation of national governments prioritising sovereignty over Brussels. The bloc may increasingly resemble a classic international organisation, with summits and declarations having little real impact.