{"id":630,"date":"2026-05-16T12:40:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=630"},"modified":"2026-05-16T12:40:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T12:40:04","slug":"us-no-longer-land-of-opportunity-merz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=630","title":{"rendered":"US no longer \u2018land of opportunity\u2019 \u2013 Merz"},"content":{"rendered":"

The German chancellor, long seen as pro-American, has said he no longer recommends the country for study or work<\/strong><\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he will no longer recommend the United States as a destination for his children to study or work, citing what he described as a worsening \u201csocial climate\u201d<\/em> in America.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a Catholic youth conference in Wuerzburg on Friday, the conservative leader said the US had become deeply polarized and a less appealing destination for young people.
<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI am a great admirer of America,\u201d<\/em> Merz said during a panel discussion. \u201cAt the moment my admiration is not growing.\u201d<\/em> Merz also argued that even highly educated Americans were increasingly struggling to find employment, suggesting the US was no longer the \u201cland of opportunity\u201d<\/em> it once was.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn\u2019t recommend to my children today that they go to the US, get an education there, and work there,\u201d <\/em>he said.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"German
Merz booed during speech about social spending cuts (VIDEO)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recent labor-market data appears to support at least part of Merz\u2019s critique. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported earlier this month that unemployment among degree holders aged 22\u201327 stood at about 5.7%, while underemployment was above 41%.<\/p>\n

Nearly half of young graduates are now working in jobs that do not require degrees, while hiring for entry-level professional roles has slowed sharply, according to The Washington Post. At the same time, white-collar layoffs in sectors such as tech, finance, and corporate services have accelerated amid AI adoption and corporate cost-cutting.<\/p>\n

Merz\u2019s remarks are notable because he has long been regarded as one of Germany\u2019s most pro-American conservative politicians, having previously championed close transatlantic ties and worked extensively with US financial giant BlackRock. They also come amid a public spat with US President Donald Trump over the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

In April, Merz said Washington had been \u201chumiliated\u201d<\/em> by Iran\u2019s leadership, arguing it lacked a coherent strategy for the conflict. Trump responded by telling the German chancellor to focus on Germany\u2019s domestic problems and the Ukraine conflict instead of criticizing US policy.<\/p>\n

\n
\n READ MORE: <\/span>Trump is punishing Germany for not enough appeasement
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany. Even after the reduction, however, around 31,000 American personnel will remain stationed in the country \u2013 more than in Italy, the UK, and Spain combined.<\/p>\n

Germany continues to host critical US command centers, air bases, and logistics hubs central to NATO operations, highlighting Berlin\u2019s continued reliance on the US despite increasingly strained relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The German chancellor, long seen as pro-American, has said he no longer recommends the country…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}