In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, CDU’s candidate for Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has strongly rejected the statement made by former US President Donald Trump, that Ukraine could have never started the war.
“This is, in essence, a classic perpetrator-victim reversal” Merz said in an interview with the ARD’s ‘Interview of the Week’ on Wednesday. “This is the Russian narrative and Putin has been presenting it this way for years. And I must admit, I’m genuinely shocked that Donald Trump has apparently adopted it for himself.”
Merz called for European unity. “We’re fortunate in Europe to have a different opinion. Now it’s crucial that the Europeans quickly agree on a common strategy for how to address this issue” the CDU politician said. “To beg and plead for us to finally get to the negotiating table is not the right approach. We must now develop our own weight.”
Merz expressed concerns that the US might no longer be committed to its NATO obligations. One had to consider the question of whether the US “might possibly be questioning the security guarantees of Article 4 and 5 of the NATO treaty” he said. Trump had already done so indirectly by saying that security guarantees for Europe in Ukraine were not covered by Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
Article 4 of the NATO treaty provides for consultation among the participating states if the “integrity of the territory, the political independence or the security” of a country is threatened. Article 5 states that the states will lend each other aid in the event of a military attack, in order to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
When it comes to financing the likely increase in defense spending, Merz called for re-prioritization. “We can certainly ask the question in the end, whether we need to correct the debt brake. But I am not willing to only constantly talk about higher taxes, higher debt and higher government spending” he said. “We have already had 50 billion euros in expenditures from the federal budget in the Bürgergeld. We have almost 50 billion euros in expenditures for refugees from the federal, state and local governments” Merz said. “We must correct the expenditure side. And then we can talk about the income side. But in the right order.