You're reading: Reuters: Trump, Macron and election – what prompted Merkel’s blunt Munich speech

For German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who often pulls her rhetorical punches, her weekend message signaling a shift in the post-war order was uncharacteristically blunt.

But growing frustration with U.S. President Donald Trump, a determination to reform Europe with France’s incoming leader and political considerations closer to home convinced Merkel to take a stand, senior German and European officials said.

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