Germany’s leader, Friedrich Merz, embodies a new kind of swagger and ambition for his nation after years of indecision and zero growth. He’s made clear he wants Berlin to lead Europe from the front, whether it’s reviving industrial heavyweights battered by China or rebuilding his country’s army into the continent’s strongest.

But we are nearing a point where the peacocking becomes something more destabilizing. Germany’s newfound willingness to splurge, with a defense budget set to soar to €162 billion ($191 billion) by 2029, is causing friction with those who can’t. France was recently taken to task by Berlin for not spending enough on weapons, a barb that reflects Paris’ yawning deficit but ignores Germany’s decades of under-spending and free riding under the Western nuclear powers’ security umbrella.

© Bloomberg