[영읽쓰] Merz warns Europe should seek ‘independence’ from US...

sources :
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/23/europe/german-election-results-cdu-afd-intl/index.html

By Sophie Tanno and Helen Regan, CNN
Updated 11:49 PM EST, Sun February 23, 2025
====================================
Europe must seek to “achieve independence” from the United States, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said after his opposition conservatives won elections on Sunday, in a vote that also saw surging support for the far-right.
#chancellor 수상
#far-right 극우

Merz, an old-school conservative who has never held a government role previously, is set to lead Europe’s biggest economy and most populous state, after his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party won 28.6% of the vote, according to preliminary official results.
#center-right 중도보수
#CDU 기독 민주 연합

“Let’s get the party started,” Merz, 69, told supporters as he declared victory at the CDU’s party headquarters in central Berlin, an apparent nod to wanting to get coalition negotiations underway quickly as the region grapples with Trump’s upending of Europe and US relations.
#coalition 연정 ~ 연합 정권 ~
다수의석이 없는 소수의석 여당이 정권을 유지하기 위해 다른 당과 연합하여 다수 의석 의결권을 행사하려는 정치 형태. 뒤에 나오겠지만 이때 연합이 무상으로 이루어지는 것은 아니고 정치적인 딜(deal)이 오가는 것이 일반적이다.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the second-largest party, with an unprecedented 20.8%, preliminary official results showed, meaning the party – once on the fringes as officially suspected of extremism – is now a major political force. However, it faces exclusion from government by other parties, due to what is known as a “firewall” arrangement.
#extremism 극단주의
#fringes 극단론자들, 편향론자들, 비주류세력들

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) took just 16.4% of the vote following the collapse of its “traffic light coalition” government – a dramatic turnaround in the party’s fortunes since the 2021 election, when it won 25.7%.
#center-left 중도좌파
#traffic-light coalition 교통신호 연정~ 교통신호등이 색이 여럿 있듯이 다양한 성향의 정당이 모여서 연정 했다는 것을 빗대어 표현.

Merz, 69, now faces an enormous task following Sunday’s snap election that was dominated by concerns over immigration, the economy and the return of US President Donald Trump.

“My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said at a roundtable event later on Sunday.

“I would never have believed that I would have to say something like that on television. But at the very least, after Donald Trump’s statements last week, it is clear that the Americans - at least this part of the Americans in this administration - are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” he added.

Sunday’s preliminary results cap off an eventful election period that drew extraordinary involvement from White House officials and has once again seen debate rage around Germany’s immigration policies.
#cap off -> 완료하다.

Trump sent shockwaves across Europe after he pushed ahead with peace talks on Ukraine with Russia, excluding both Kyiv and European leaders – prompting European leaders to hold emergency talks to discuss its unified response on the crisis.

Merz also referenced Elon Musk’s “intervention in the German election campaign” in recent days. “The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow,” he said at the televised event.

“We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my top priority is to create unity in Europe.”

The CDU’s party headquarters were filled with cheers and applause on Sunday evening as the exit polls were revealed and it became clear that the opposition party was set to become the largest group. Outside the building, a small group of protesters had gathered to demonstrate against what they perceive as party leader Friedrich Merz’s hard line on immigration.
#protester 시위자
#hard line on ~ : 강경노선~

The mood at the AfD election party, meanwhile, was ecstatic as it emerged that the party had almost doubled its support, with people cheering and waving Germany flags.

Party co-leader Alice Weidel took to the stage to tell cheering crowds that the AfD had “never been stronger.”

Big task ahead
Germany’s rebuilding after the Nazi era came under the US-led NATO security alliance and its later prosperity was powered by cheap Russian energy and trade with China.

What was once certain has unraveled and if Merz – who has pledged to tack right and promised to provide leadership in Europe - does become chancellor he has an enormous task ahead.

Two recent deadly attacks, one in Magdeburg before Christmas and another in Munich last week – both carried out by migrants with differing motives – fanned the flames of division in the run up to Sunday’s vote.

The AfD, which has been accused of using immigrants has a scapegoat, capitalized on these attacks for its own political gain, and has even called for “remigration” – the mass expulsion of immigrants, regardless of their citizenship status in Germany.
#scapegoat ; someone who is blamed for something bad that happens; 희생양

Both the CDU and the SPD also ramped up pledges around irregular migration and protecting internal security in the wake of recent attacks, meaning that even if the AfD do not take office they have already shaped the debate.

Complex negotiations
Nearly 60 million Germans were eligible to vote on Sunday, according to data from the country’s Federal Statistics Office.

Under Germany’s system it is difficult for any party to gain enough votes to govern alone and it remains to be seen what form coalition-building talks will take.

Some aspects, however, are already clear-cut; other main parties made clear that the AfD will not be part of any negotiations, meaning it is shut out of power for now.

It seems likely that Merz will call on Scholz’s Social Democrats – the other major centrist party in Germany – to build a government.

Another potential coalition partner is the environmental Greens, which served in Scholz’s coalition government.

The “traffic light” coalition brought together an uneasy alliance of three ideologically different parties and its collapse triggered Sunday’s snap vote, a relative rarity in a country which has long had one of the most stable political systems in Europe.
#snap election :조기선거 (일찍 치러진 선거)
#snap vote ; 조기투표

Also notable in the exit polls was a successful outcome for the socialist Die Linke party, which won 8.8% – comfortably pushing it over the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament.
#exit poll 출구조사

It remains unclear at this stage whether Merz will need one or two partners to form a majority. Three-way coalition governments in Germany are rare.
#majority 다수의 - 여기서는 과반석의 다수당을 의미.

Overall, it could take weeks of haggling to form a new government, meaning more political paralysis for Berlin at a time of wider uncertainty.
=====================================
Q1.Based on this acrticle,  who win the snap election?

Q2. At this artcile, why does it focus on AfD?

Q3. Based on this artcle, who seems the possible partners of CDUin case they need a coalition partner?

Q4. As you read out the speech of Mr. Merz about the relationship between US and Europe,  please give your opinion about the possible statement from the future German government against the Ukraine -Russian War.