Overview
- Bohlen says Chancellor Friedrich Merz has disappointed expectations and fails to assert himself against the SPD in the governing coalition.
- He warns Germany is drifting toward a planned economy, citing an EU regulatory flood that he argues is squeezing the Mittelstand.
- Abroad, he says people question Germany’s political course, pointing to lost innovation, stronger Chinese carmakers, and U.S.–China dominance in AI.
- He praises U.S. President Donald Trump’s decisiveness as a contrast to what he calls Berlin’s blockage, while noting he disagrees with much of Trump’s behavior.
- He rejects bans and stigmatization of the AfD and calls for equal treatment with Die Linke, reiterates he is not an AfD supporter, and rules out entering politics himself.