German Union Party Leader Jens Spahn Receives Support from the AfD for Nuclear Participation in NATO
In a surprising turn of events, the leader of the German Union Party, Jens Spahn, has received support from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for his demand of a German nuclear participation in NATO. According to Rüdiger Lucassen, the AfD’s defense policy spokesperson, the party’s main theme is a sovereign, independent Germany and nuclear deterrence is a crucial component in reducing the erpressbarkeit of states. While the AfD is open to the idea of German nuclear participation in NATO, it has ruled out the possibility of participating in French or British nuclear programs, with Lucassen stating, “A German nuclear program is therefore the logical consequence.”
Spahn had previously called for a debate on an independent European nuclear program under German leadership, stating, “Who cannot deter with nuclear weapons will become a plaything of world politics.” The Greens, however, have dismissed Spahn’s proposal as a political tactic, with Sara Nanni, the party’s defense policy spokesperson, saying, “Jens Spahn talks about a German atomic bomb and an Iron Dome, but who protects us from his political vacuum of responsibility?” Nanni accused Spahn of using the debate to distract from the mask scandal, which has engulfed the Union Party.
The Left Party has also rejected the idea of a German nuclear program, with Ulrich Thoden, the party’s defense policy spokesperson, stating, “The buildup of our own atomic weapons is the endpoint of an already open-ended military buildup wave.” Thoden warned that an increase in military buildup would make war more likely and that a German nuclear program would “completely upend the post-war order, even vis-a-vis the allies.” Sahra Wagenknecht, the leader of the Left Party’s sister organization, the Basic Social Welfare, also criticized Spahn’s proposal, stating, “The arms buildup debate is becoming increasingly absurd. More atomic weapons do not make our world safer, but rather increase the risk of war.