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... Merz, once seen as one of Germany's most pro-American politicians, has repeatedly clashed with US President Donald Trump over issues ranging from the Iran war to German domestic policy.

"The era of unconditional transatlantic friendship is probably over for the foreseeable future," the chancellor told fellow members of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Thursday at a campaign event in Berlin ahead of this weekend's regional parliamentary election.

"We are seeing a change in political attitudes on the other side of the Atlantic, as well as a shift in how the transatlantic alliance is viewed, which we perhaps did not think possible," he added.

In April, Merz argued that the US lacked a coherent strategy in the Middle East and had been "humiliated" by Iran during the conflict. Trump responded by telling him to focus on "fixing his broken country."

A month later, the chancellor, who previously worked with US financial giant BlackRock, said he no longer viewed the US as the "land of opportunity" it once was. He added that he would discourage his own children from traveling there for work or study. ...