Merz has been under fire since he spoke during a press conference on March 3 at the White House when Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Madrid for refusing to allow US military aircraft to use Spanish air bases attacking Iran, and criticizing Spain for it refuse contribute 5 percent of the National GDP to military spending.
After the meeting, the chancellor claimed he had not spoken out in defense of his fellow EU member because he did not want to risk “escalating” the situation by publicly rebuking Trump. He added that he later told the president behind closed doors that the economic sanctions cannot be imposed on one EU country.
But the round has done little to quell anger in Madrid. A few hours after the Washington meeting, Spanish Foreign Minister José Luis Albares criticized Merz for failing to defend a fellow EU member, and said he could not imagine former German chancellors Angela Merkel or Olaf Scholz remaining silent in such a situation.
The chancellor was also criticized in Spain’s national media, with commentators describing Merz as “coward” by the newspaper editorial scolding him for “failing to defend a European ally as a basic sense of solidarity would have demanded.”
The tension? What tensions?
Merz’s spokesman, Stefan Kornelius, downplayed the apparent conflict between the two countries, telling POLITICO on Monday that “the relationship is not at all tense.” He also dismissed criticism of Berlin’s handling of the situation and said Germany’s top foreign policy and security official, Günter Sautter, had spoken to his Spanish counterpart immediately after the Trump meeting.
But he admitted that the two leaders have not spoken since the chancellor’s visit to Washington. According to Kornelius, Merz has tried to call Sánchez twice but was unable to reach him; he added that the chancellor left a voice message for the prime minister and is waiting for a call.
