German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) accuses Union’s candidate Friedrich Merz of a “dangerous zigzag course” in regards to Ukraine.
He himself had clearly said that he won’t deliver the cruise missile Taurus, said Scholz to the news portal T-Online. Merz, on the other hand, “wanted to deliver it, before the elections in East Germany, he then suddenly thought it was no longer necessary, and in October, he formulated an ultimatum in the German Bundestag for a delivery”. Scholz calls that a “dangerous zigzag course”.
He also sticks to his statement that the Union wants to cut pensions. “We had a pension guarantee agreement with the Union in the previous government, which is set to expire on July 1, 2025. If the guarantee is not extended, the pension level will decrease. In relation to income, the pensions will be smaller.” Retirees feel this “cut”, so one should name it clearly, the Chancellor said.
Regarding his statements about Merz in a TV interview, Scholz said: “It’s not impolite to point out that a political opponent acts with false claims. And I formulated it in the North German way, to make the accusation a bit milder sound.” And: “The opposition leader likes to make claims about me that hardly withstand a serious verification. Politically, that may be opportune, but one must and can defend oneself against it.