General debate in the Bundestag: Merz rails against "feminist foreign policy"
Created: 2022-03-23Updated: 2022-03-23 09:23
By: Katja Thorwarth
General debate in the context of the Ukraine war: CDU leader Friedrich Merz starts the debate.
© Annette Riedl/dpa
In the wake of the Ukraine war, the Bundestag debates the government's budget.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak after CDU leader Friedrich Merz (CDU).
In the first general debate since the 2021 federal election, Chancellor Olaf Scholz* (SPD*) will answer parliamentary questions.
The pressing issues in the general debate are the Ukraine conflict* and the corona pandemic.
Friedrich Merz* (CDU*), chairman of the CDU and opposition leader in the Bundestag, makes the start.
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks next.
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Opposition leader Friedrich Merz starts the general debate with an attack on the traffic light government and complains: Nobody in the plenary the day before spoke of the 2 percent of gross domestic product as a NATO contribution.
The topic is the 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr.
Specifically, he first attacks the FDP in the form of Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (Chairwoman of the Defense Committee of the German Bundestag), who caught his eye with an interjection: "Ms. Strack-Zimmermann, you are obliged to exercise a certain amount of restraint."
Merz initially sets specific conditions on which he makes the Union's approval of an amendment to the Basic Law dependent:
- 2 percent GDP would have to be guaranteed beyond the 100 billion
- The expenditure may only be used "and for nothing else" for the Bundeswehr - and not for "feminist foreign policy"
- 2 percent of GDP would have to be permanently guaranteed for NATO
- The union wants to know what exactly the money is being spent on - no "blank 100 billion check" will be issued
- The procurement system of the Bundeswehr in Koblenz must be changed
- Merz expects a repayment plan for the special fund, since exceeding the debt ceiling is not constitutional
"We are not the majority buyers" - opposition leader Friedrich Merz delivers a declaration of war on the government.
Blank checks would not be distributed, nor would you be the “substitute player on the substitutes’ bench”.
General debate in the Bundestag: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz's budget under scrutiny
Berlin – The policy of the traffic light government is being put to the test in the Bundestag today, Wednesday.
In the general debate, the budget of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) will be discussed in the context of budget deliberations.
The general debate is the highlight of the four-day first consultation on the 2022 federal budget.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner* (FDP) already presented his plans to Parliament on Tuesday (March 22nd, 2022).
He promoted his budget, which was characterized by many "uncertainties".
In view of the Ukraine conflict and the ongoing corona pandemic, Germany's economic development is difficult to assess.
Accordingly, “an appropriate response from government fiscal policy” is all the more important.
The aim of the federal government is to strengthen growth and at the same time to counteract the risks of inflation.
General debate in the context of the Ukraine war
The general debate is scheduled to last four hours, with the debate on the Chancellor's budget traditionally having the character of a general debate on government policy.
As head of the largest opposition faction, the CDU politician Friedrich Merz will open the debate.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) speaks after him.
All other parliamentary group leaders also want to take the floor.
The budget of the chancellor's office envisages spending of 3.7 billion euros this year, which is a decrease of 14.3 percent compared to the previous year.
The individual budgets for the Federal Foreign Office (1 p.m.), the Ministry of Defense (2.45 p.m.) and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (4.30 p.m.) will also be discussed on Wednesday.
(ktho/afp)
