"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pushed for tougher migration policies, as well as reducing the country's US dependency, during an address to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party rally in Magdeburg on Saturday. "It cannot be that the majority of refugees from this world come to Germany. And it cannot be that everyone else in the European Union just waves them through and says, Go on to Germany," he said. Merz argued Germany must strengthen its military, reduce strategic dependencies, and prepare for rising global tensions and the risk of conflicts between major powers in the South China Sea. "We must ensure in multiple ways that not only Germany becomes strong again [...] We will have to mobilise our own forces in this world. We must become stronger ourselves," he continued. He also addressed strained relations with the United States, criticising President Donald Trump's renewed tariff agenda. "We found an American president, Donald Trump, who came into office for the second time, starting to pursue a rigorous tariff policy in the interests of representing America's interests, and predominantly at the expense of others. And we will have to grapple with this for quite some time," Merz added. The chancellor's visit comes after a new poll released Wednesday revealed a sharp rise in dissatisfaction with Merz's performance since he took office in May."