Ines Schwerdtner, the chairwoman of Germany’s Left Party, called for an expansion of controls over the defense sector on Wednesday. She argued that “comprehensive investment scrutiny is necessary across the entire defense industry – including drone manufacturers and companies that are not traditionally viewed as arms firms but still produce military goods”.
Schwerdtner warned that the federal government seems untroubled by the fact that “dubious U.S. technology billionaires are investing billions in German defense companies”. She said this indicates that no lessons have been learned from recent months’ events.
The Left leader went on to criticize projects that “enable right‑wing U.S. billionaires closely linked to the MAGA movement to become richer and more influential”. According to her, such deals do not increase security; instead, they heighten uncertainty in Europe. She added that if the investor had been Chinese, the government “would never have approved it”. In her view, the administration remains “blinded by its transatlantic eye” as it routinely overlooks these risks.