Trump, EU, Taurus
Merz accuses Ampel of sleepwalking
January 15, 2024, 6:39 a.m
Is the EU sufficiently prepared for a possible re-election of Trump in the USA? CDU leader Merz criticizes the traffic light for not being prepared for the eventuality. The Europeans would have to develop a plan B without the Americans, he said in an interview.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the government of not adequately preparing for a possible re-election of former US President Donald Trump. “It bothers me how carelessly the EU and especially the largest member state deals with such a potential challenge,” said Merz to “Table.Media”.
Europe must prepare for all possibilities. “The Europeans must have a plan A with America and a plan B without America, and very quickly,” said Merz. “We are faced with the challenge of having to think strategically about security policy again.” There are no conclusive answers to many new questions, he said. “If you want peace, you have to be ready for war.” Europe must “finally be made ‘capable of global politics’, like (former EU Commission President, editor’s note) “Jean-Claude Juncker once put it.”
On his trips abroad, Merz repeatedly noticed “how much greater the expectations of us are than we are prepared to fulfill these expectations in our own interest.” Germany must be prepared “to take on more leadership responsibility for global challenges together with the most important partners in Europe and the North Atlantic region.” Europe needs a strong Germany and Germany needs a strong Europe, he continued. “This is due to our geostrategic location, our situation as the most populous and also the economically strongest country in the European Union.”
The USA will elect a new president in November. According to polls, Trump is currently the clear favorite among Republicans to be nominated as a challenger to incumbent Joe Biden. The ex-president recently questioned whether European NATO partners would continue to be supported militarily in the event of an election victory. The Republican primaries begin this Monday in the US state of Iowa. Trump’s strongest rivals within the party are Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Merz: “Do they understand what is currently happening in the world?”
In the interview, Merz also further criticized the traffic light coalition for its decision-making. If, after the Constitutional Court ruling, the federal government needs 200 hours of crisis meetings to make “downright silly and still controversial decisions”, then he is asking himself the question: “Have they actually understood what is currently happening in the world?” said Merz.
The CDU leader also wondered whether Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, Gerhard Schröder, Helmut Kohl or Angela Merkel would have argued with such innocence in such a situation instead of sitting down with the heads of state in Europe. “For me there’s something somnambulistic about it.”
Merz also again called for the Taurus cruise missiles to be delivered to Ukraine. He emphasized that he would provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. “These cruise missiles could destroy the Kerch Bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, the main supply route for the Russian invasion force.” But the Chancellor still owes the German population an answer as to why he is not supplying this weapon. “Is this still a tactic? Or is it ignorance? He owes us all, including me, an answer to this question,” criticized Merz.