German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the World Economic Forum in Davos:
We have entered a time of great power politics.
The international order of the past three decades, anchored — however imperfectly — in international law, has been shaken to its very foundations. This new world of great powers is being built on power, on strength, and ultimately on force.
It is not a cozy place. But we do not have to accept it as fate. We are not at the mercy of this “new world order.” We have a choice. We can shape the future.
To succeed, we must face harsh realities and chart our course with clear-eyed realism.
As Mark Carney said in this hall two days ago, we must no longer rely solely on the power of our values. We must also recognize the value of our power. — I share that view.
We must invest massively in our ability to defend ourselves. We are doing this.
We must never forget one thing: a world in which only power counts is a dangerous place — first for small states, then for middle powers, and ultimately for the great ones.
I do not say this lightly. In the twentieth century, my own country, Germany, went down this path to its bitter end and pulled the world into an abyss.
In recent days, the United States administration has argued for a greater role in Greenland, stating that this is necessary to counter security threats in the High North.
We welcome the fact that the United States is taking the threat posed by Russia in the Arctic seriously.
This threat itself is a clear expression of renewed great-power rivalry.
We will protect Denmark and Greenland from the threat posed by Russia.
We should not give up on NATO.
Democracies do not have subordinates; they have allies — trusted partners and friends.
We are entering a new era of great-power politics. We are already in the midst of it.
The winds are harsh, and we all feel the threats they carry. But we have to be very clear: We are not subordinate to this world; we can form it.
Dictators might have subordinates; we rely on partners and reliable friends. That principle will guide our work, and we will ensure it is not forgotten.
Both Germany and Europe have wasted incredible potential for growth in recent years by dragging their feet on reforms and by unnecessarily and excessively curtailing entrepreneurial freedom and personal responsibility.
We must substantially reduce bureaucracy in Europe. The single market was once created to form the most competitive economic area in the world.
Instead, we have become the world champion of overregulation. That has to end.
The world around us is changing at an unprecedented pace. The direction it is taking should concern us: a world of great-power rivalry is becoming the new reality.
Europe has understood this message — and Germany has as well. We will live up to these challenges.
The entire energy system has to be reformed, and we are on a way to do that, even though it’s not easy.
Nuclear power plants have been switched off. This is a final decision; we cannot recall that, but we have to address it.
New gas-powered plants will be in place.
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