Merz on “change of power”: “I don’t want Germany to consider independent nuclear armament” - WELT
Ahead of the CDU party conference, Friedrich Merz reveals his foreign and domestic policy convictions in an interview. The Chancellor is against a German atomic bomb. He welcomes a social media ban for children and considers top earners to be "lemones" that have been "pretty much squeezed dry."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) gave a lengthy interview to the podcast "Machtwechsel" (Power Shift) by journalists Dagmar Rosenfeld and Robin Alexander ahead of the CDU party conference in Stuttgart. In the nearly hour-long conversation, which will be released on Wednesday, he discusses in detail the relationship with the USA and France, as well as domestic policy debates such as working time regulations, tax rates, and a possible ban on social media for minors.
Referring to the Munich Security Conference last weekend, Merz expressed his incomprehension at the applause for US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech. Rubio had called for a renewal of the transatlantic alliance but had also strongly criticized economic, climate, and migration policies in Europe. "Well, I wasn't in the hall, and even if I had been, I would have found it difficult to stand up," said the 70-year-old.
“It’s Trump in a friendlier package,” the Chancellor said. Rubio wasn’t as confrontational as US Vice President JD Vance was last year. “But it’s the worldview of the current American administration, and Marco Rubio doesn’t differ much from that in substance.” Merz emphasized that Rubio had made it clear in a personal conversation that he still considered NATO relevant.
Merz explains the enthusiastic reaction in the hall after Rubio's speech by pointing to lower expectations: "The community was happy that an American was standing at the front who still addressed them as friends. That alone triggered a certain emotion. It wouldn't have been enough for me, but obviously it was enough for the hall."
In his widely noted opening speech at the Munich Security Conference, Merz had already distanced himself from the Trump administration and declared that he would not participate in the "MAGA culture war." This opening statement had been prepared and agreed upon long in advance, Merz said in the podcast. It had been his wish, as Chancellor, to open the conference in order to address the "elephant in the room," namely the relationship with the USA.
Merz rejects German atomic bomb
In his speech, Merz also stated his intention to explore possibilities for a European nuclear deterrent with France. Back in 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron had already offered Germany closer cooperation, an offer that received little attention at the time. "Such an offer from the French government cannot be ignored in these times," Merz said on the "Power Shift" podcast.
The most likely option is for Germany to participate in France's – and possibly also Great Britain's – nuclear umbrella. "We have nuclear-capable aircraft in the Bundeswehr," says Merz. "We would be able to transport them: American nuclear weapons. Now, theoretically, it would be possible to extend that to British and French nuclear weapons as well," Merz added.
The Chancellor, however, rejected the idea of Germany acquiring its own nuclear weapons. "I don't want Germany to even consider developing its own nuclear weapons," Merz said, referring to the Two Plus Four Agreement on German reunification, which prohibits Germany from possessing nuclear weapons. But he added that it was necessary to discuss with France and possibly Great Britain the question of strengthening the European part of NATO and supplementing the American nuclear umbrella.
Germany's participation in France's nuclear sharing arrangements still presents a number of challenges. In France, the president is also the commander-in-chief and decides on the military; in Germany, this role is held by parliament. Merz acknowledged that there are a number of "unresolved issues" that need to be discussed. CDU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn also expressed doubts on Monday that Germany could rely on the nuclear umbrella even if the right-wing National Front were to win the election .
Merz considers the failure of a Franco-German fighter jet project possible.
Furthermore, the development of the Franco-German FCAS fighter jet demonstrates how defense cooperation between Germany and France should not proceed. The project, plagued by differing requirements for the jet and disputes over the division of labor between the German partner Airbus Defence and Space and the French defense company Dassault, is considered so deadlocked that, after seven years, Merz publicly acknowledged its failure as a possibility.
"This is not a political dispute, but rather a genuine problem with the requirements profile. And if we can't resolve that, then we can't maintain the project," Merz said on the "Power Shift" podcast. "Specifically, the French need a nuclear-capable and a carrier-capable aircraft in the next generation of fighter jets. We don't currently need that in the German Bundeswehr," Merz said.
The Chancellor asked, "Do we have the strength and the will to build two aircraft for these two different objective requirement profiles, or only one? And France only wants to build one and wants to tailor it practically to the specifications that France needs. But that's not the one we need."
He is currently in talks with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) about the fundamental question of whether Germany will even need a manned fighter jet in twenty years. If so, they will look for partners: "There are others in Europe, the Spanish of course, but there are also other countries that are interested in discussing this with us." Merz said he does not see this as a political rift with France.
Merz sees “signs of weakness and nervousness in Moscow”
Likewise, there is no disagreement with Macron regarding the approach to the Ukraine war. As the Chancellor explained, direct talks with Vladimir Putin, as requested by Macron, were also considered. "We already discussed this last year, whether we should make an effort to reopen a channel of communication with Putin," Merz said. Macron's national security advisor traveled to Moscow for this purpose, in coordination with Germany and Great Britain – without success.
“The bombings have intensified,” said Merz. “And then we have to listen to mockery and derision from the Kremlin, even personal insults directed at the three of us. They can do all that, but to me it’s more a sign of weakness and nervousness in Moscow.” He was convinced that the war would only end when one of the two sides was militarily or economically exhausted.
Raise the top tax rate? "The lemon has been squeezed pretty hard."
Merz also addressed domestic policy issues in the "Power Shift" podcast. He rejected demands from the SPD to raise taxes for top earners and heirs . "The lemon has been squeezed pretty hard," Merz said. If you add up the so-called wealth tax – 45 percent instead of the top tax rate of 42 percent, the church tax, and the solidarity surcharge, the burden on top earners is almost 50 percent. "So I would say that's really as far as it goes," Merz said.
At the CDU party conference, a concept is being discussed to lower the top tax rate to significantly higher incomes than currently apply, thereby relieving the burden on the middle class. The SPD signaled its agreement, but only on the condition that the top tax rate is raised in return.
However, this is out of the question for Merz, as businesses are also affected. "Millions of entrepreneurs in Germany pay income tax because they are not corporations, but partnerships, small and medium-sized enterprises. I strongly advise us not to increase their tax burden even further."
The Chancellor reiterated his appeal that Germans need to work more. Merz defended the demand by CDU politician Gitta Connemann to restrict the right to part-time work and grant it only to parents and caregivers, but criticized the debate surrounding the term "lifestyle part-time work" .
"That was explicitly not Gitta Connemann's intention. But this example shows you the oversimplification and, consequently, the real mobilization potential—to put it mildly—with which such debates are conducted in our country." The CDU wants to maintain the right to part-time work for families, but also increase the amount of work performed in the country.
Merz supports a social media ban for children
Another topic at the CDU party conference is a social media ban for minors , which the Chancellor supports. "If children today, at the age of 14, have up to five hours or more of screen time a day, if their entire socialization takes place only through this medium, then we shouldn't be surprised by personality deficits and problems in the social behavior of young people," said Merz.
He said he had "a lot of sympathy for the proposal we will be discussing at the party conference next weekend, and also for the proposal coming from the SPD." The CDU state premiers Daniel Günther from Schleswig-Holstein and Hendrik Wüst from North Rhine-Westphalia had advocated for an age limit of 16. The SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag is pushing for a tiered model based on age limits, which includes a complete ban for children under 14.
Merz said he was generally skeptical of bans, but he saw the consequences of mobile phone use. "I think the priority must be how to protect children at an age when they also need time to play, learn, and concentrate at school." While he believed children should learn how to use electronic media at school, the Chancellor argued, "The argument that children need to be introduced to it so they can use it doesn't hold water. Then we'd have to hand out alcohol in elementary school so they get used to it."
Merz describes the suspension of arms deliveries to Israel as a matter of conscience.
Asked what his most difficult decision to date had been, Merz cited taking on debt of 500 billion euros for the modernization of the German armed forces and infrastructure. "I couldn't have had one without the other, and I reluctantly agreed to both," Merz said.
"And I must say, in retrospect, the decision in favor of the Bundeswehr was definitely the right one, because if we hadn't made it, the NATO summit at the beginning of June last year would have been the last one we would have experienced in that composition." He was convinced that the USA would have left NATO if Germany hadn't taken the lead.
Merz also defended the suspension of German arms deliveries to Israel in the summer, which had drawn criticism from within his own party and the Young Union, as a matter of conscience. "I could not have justified continuing the arms deliveries in accordance with my own conscience," Merz said. "And in retrospect, I must also say that it subsequently received the greatest recognition from the Israeli government and strengthened rather than weakened the authority of German politics throughout the Middle East. Standing by Israel does not mean approving of or even supporting every decision made by the Israeli government."