Top German politicians and chancellor candidates faced off one last time in a debate on local broadcaster ZDF ahead of Sunday’s federal elections. The war in Ukraine dominated an agenda packed with contentious topics which included immigration and the economy.
The debate got off to a quick start with moderators centring the conversation on the threat of war and continental security.
A recent survey revealed that 45% of Germans considered peace and security to be the most important issue for them and how they vote.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock – who’s the co-chair of the Greens party – says the threat of war has increased in recent days after relations with longtime European allies gloomed following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s desire to end the almost three-year long war on Ukraine at any cost, including alienating decades-long US allies across the Atlantic has made many European leaders question their own security and re-evaluate Washington’s reliability.
“So far we have been strongly supported by the Americans, and if that is no longer the case, then we Europeans must secure our own peace even more strongly, and we can do that if we find the strength of the democrats,” explained Baerbock.
Matthias Miersch, Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), added that the German government was not badly prepared, but the key question was how Europe would react.
“Is Europe capable of defending itself? This is also a question of financing. How are we positioned, there must be no dictated peace over Ukraine. The question of how we are financially equipped is a question for the future. The question of reforming the debt brake will be a key issue,” argued Miersch.
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Secretary General Carsten Linnemann says his party – and sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) – will pursue a policy of setting new priorities and restoring Germany as one of the key players in the international arena.
“The current government is isolated and has not taken on a leadership role. Next week Macron and Starmer are flying to Trump, we as Germany have to take on a leadership role again,” says Linnemann.
“Not from the top down but with France, with Poland with a strong European Union and then we will set a priority and that is the defence capability of Germany and Europe” added the CDU leader.
Alexander Dobrindt from the CSU then emphasized that the incumbent government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not equipped to deal with the current global developments.
“The US is repositioning itself, there may be a vacuum in Europe and the crucial question is whether we will fill this security vacuum or Putin. We must not allow that to happen, which is why this question of a new security architecture arises,” said Dobrindt.
Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner weighed in stressing the need for Berlin to adopt a hardline stance and project an image of strength.
“Power politics is being played, China, Russia, the US, that is directed against the rules-based international order and multilateralism, which means we have to arm ourselves,” said Linder.
“The time for moral appeals and feminist foreign policy is over. Our country’s geopolitical strength has always been based on our economic strength. We no longer have that, we have to restore it. Our state is failing in its core tasks, including security but also education and infrastructure, and that has to change,” he continued.
ADVERTISEMENTFar-right Alternative for German (AfD) leader Alice Weidel also believes that threat of war has grown significantly in the past weeks. She also noted that her party shares in Trump’s beliefs and have been calling on Ukraine to implement peace and negotiate with Russia since the beginning of the war, a proposal which was firmly rejected by Scholz’s government.
She then criticized Merz for his stance on continuing weapons deliveries to Kyiv. Merz has previously advocated for Berlin to send Ukraine Taurus missiles to enhance their aerial capabilities as they fend off Russian aggression.
Weidel considers this to be an escalatory approach and wrong, arguing that “Germany should not get involved at all, not even with arms deliveries or the deployment of soldiers or financial aid”.
“We have to put the brakes on this issue because the danger of escalation is still there,” added Weidel. The AfD leader – who’s currently coming in second place in polls with an estimated 20% support base – also announced that she will support Trump in his efforts.
ADVERTISEMENTLinnemann stressed that the CDU wants to make Europe strong again arguing that European powers should speak as one and display total unity.
“We will not approach Mr. Putin in isolation. Instead, we will join forces with the whole of Europe, with France, with Poland, with Mr. Starmer and with the British to create a strong Europe and then sit at the table with the Ukrainians with one voice,” said Linnemann.
The CDU leader also took a jab at Weidel accusing the far-right leader of supporting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. then says to Weidel that she stands behind Putin, while he stands behind Ukraine.
Weidel replies that it was never right to see this war in black and white. The war of aggression was illegal under international law, but it had a history that was being ignored. Weidel repeats that we must come to the negotiating table to end the war as quickly as possible.
ADVERTISEMENTBaerbock also fired shots of her own as she accused Weidel and Wagenknecht – leader of Germany’s Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) – of never having been to Ukraine or seeing the victims suffering from Putin’s attacks.
Weidel struck back accusing Baerbock of only worsening an already dire situation during her time in office.
Wagenknecht has been against arms deliveries and in favour of peace negotiations since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. She emphasises that it’s become clear that peace talks are possible.
“The Europeans had only ever backed weapons and a military solution, which is why they would not sit at the table,” explained Wagenknecht.
ADVERTISEMENTJan van Aken, the leading candidate of The Left (DL) party, says that NATO has a problem because, unlike the European Union, it is not a community of values.
“We must think security in European terms, it is wrong to focus unilaterally on weapons and NATO, and NATO without the USA would be better,” stated van Aken.
The FDP’s Lindner disagreed, saying that “the EU needs the nuclear deterrent of the USA and NATO”.
Lindner has often expressed his desire to start a new era of transatlantic diplomacy, designed to bring Europeans and Americans closer. “The friend in Washington has become a complicated one, but he is still a friend.”
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