Merkel’s likely successor queries Nato targets
ANGELA MERKEL’S apparent successor called into question Germany’s Nato spending targets yesterday, as he complained that wealthy European countries were struggling to meet the commitment of 2 per cent of GDP.
Friedrich Merz, who polls suggest will become the next leader of Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, said he would like to reopen the debate on whether the Nato spending targets were inaccurate.
“Within Nato... it will be necessary to discuss again whether the 2 per cent target is actually based on a correct assessment,” Mr Merz told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. “Of course, countries like Germany, which are doing well economically, achieve this goal with much more difficulty. But those who have economic problems like Greece achieve it faster.”
His remarks are likely to cause irritation in Athens, as Germany was the driving force behind the austerity package Greece was ordered to adopt after the debt crisis.
Mr Merz went on to suggest that the 2 per cent target should be expanded to include German aid projects.
“One should not include only mili- tary expenditures. Germany does a lot to build civilian structures in crisis areas. That should be included in the calculation.”
Donald Trump, the US president, has repeatedly criticised Germany for failing to meet the Nato target, which was agreed at a summit in 2014. However, Germany has pledged to increase defence spending, with the CDU expected to agree at its annual conference this week a commitment of 1.5 per cent of GDP by 2024.
It came as early polls indicated that Mr Merz has taken the lead in the race for the party chairmanship. The other two runners are Annegret Kramp-karrenbauer, a Merkel loyalist, and Jens Spahn, a long-time critic of Merkel’s refugee policies.
Polling by Bild newspaper showed that of 300 delegates prepared to disclose their intentions, 144 planned to back Mr Merz while 96 wanted Ms Kramp-karrenbauer and 29 support Mr Spahn. A total of 1,001 delegates will vote at the party conference in Hamburg on Dec 8.
The CDU’S decision to conduct nationwide leadership hustings seems to have gone down well with the wider electorate. A poll released on Saturday showed that they had jumped 2 percentage points to 28 per cent, while the surging Green party fell back two points to 19 per cent.