Merz turned Germany into US ‘vassal’ – Spanish deputy PM

The German chancellor’s reaction to US President Donald Trump’s threats against Spain shows Berlin’s “weakness,” Yolanda Diaz told Politico

Germany has become an American “vassal” under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz has said, criticizing his response to US President Donald Trump’s threats against Spain.

Relations between Spain and Germany have been strained over the past week due to what Madrid described as a lack of solidarity from Berlin. The tensions followed an incident in early March, when the German chancellor remained silent during a visit to Washington as Trump, sitting next to him in the Oval Office, threatened to cut off “all trade” with Spain.

The US president justified his threat by citing what he characterized as Madrid’s inadequate defense spending and its refusal to allow American forces to use joint military bases in Spain for strikes on Iran.

Merz’s actions show he is one of the EU leaders “who have no idea how to manage the historic moment we’re living in,” Diaz told Politico on Monday. “What Europe needs today is leadership, not vassals who pay homage to Trump.”

If we want, we can just fly to the Spanish bases and use them without permission – Trump. pic.twitter.com/5CHIVF7mON

— Jürgen Nauditt ???????????????? (@jurgen_nauditt) March 3, 2026

She also maintained that any EU leader “should be expected to speak out clearly in defense of international law,” adding that the UN Charter clearly defines what constitutes “an illegitimate war.”

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The chancellor’s actions only demonstrate that Germany finds itself in a “position of extreme weakness in economic terms,” the deputy prime minister said, calling on the EU to reduce its “technological, financial and energetic dependence” on the US.

Berlin denied any issues in relations with Madrid by telling Politico that “the relationship is not tense at all.”

Spain was virtually the only Western nation that strongly condemned the US and Israeli attack on Iran. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that his nation would not be “complicit in something that is bad for the world simply out of fear of reprisals from someone.”

Merz, by contrast, blamed Tehran for the conflict following the first Israeli and US attacks while stating that it was “not the time to lecture our partners and allies.”