Populist currents and fragile coalitions: Trump’s shadow over Europe

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Europe’s political center is wobbling. Again.

In Germany, a dramatic Bundestag vote leaves new Chancellor Friedrich Merz bruised before he’s even begun. In Romania, the first round of the presidential election wipes out the mainstream — and puts a Trump-admiring provocateur on top.

EU Confidential breaks down a week of shaken coalitions, rising populists, and what they all say about the shifting balance of power in Europe.

Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Politico’s Nette Nöstlinger in Berlin, our in-house Romanian expert Carmen Paun, and Chief Political Correspondent in Europe and the U.K. Tim Ross to explore what’s driving the backlash against the mainstream — and how Trump’s influence plays out very differently across the map.