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Nuclear no thank you. The nuclear weapons debate resurfaces in Germany

(B2) Two heavyweights of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) come, one after the other, to declare themselves against the presence of nuclear weapons in Germany and their carrying by German planes

The decision of the federal government to opt for the Boeing F-18 for one main reason, the possible carriage by German planes of the American nuclear bomb (read: Next generation Eurofighter and F-18 to replace German Tornados. A nuclear necessity), set fire to the powder.

 

No security with nuclear power, on the contrary

« It's time for Germany to rule out the possibility of them [US nuclear weapons] being stationed here in the future " said Rolf Mutzenich in the daily Tagesspiegel. " Nuclear weapons on German soil do not strengthen our security, quite the contrary ».

No purchase of bomb-ready devices

The co-chairman of the social democratic party Norbert Walter Borjans drove the nail into the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, saying against " the purchase of replacement fighters to carry nuclear bombs. My position is clear: they must not be stationed [in Germany], be made available and, of course, use nuclear weapons. »

Donald Trump effect

For the social democrats, the presence of Donald Trump in the White House and the miniaturization of nuclear bombs means that it is no longer excluded that these weapons could be used in the future in a tactical way.

Commentary: electoral effect or a deeper feeling?

The campaign effect...

We can see in these two simultaneous announcements, the effect of the electoral campaign for the 2021 elections. The presence of the Greens in front of the SPD, or tied according to the polls, is putting the old German party to the test. If he wants to keep his chances of being part of a coalition government after 2021, he must toughen up his rhetoric. But make no mistake about it.

... should not overshadow a deep feeling

There is, even more than ever, an acute sense of peace in Germany. A good part of the German Social Democrats have been on this line for several years, in line with what they feel about their electorate.

For those (like B2) who had closely followed the debates on the European Defense Fund (1) in the European Parliament, in 2018 and 2019, this feeling is very real. The fiercest opponents of this fund, using all sorts of arguments — from the argument of economic efficiency to that of ethics — came from the benches of the German social democrats (2).

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

  1. And its predecessor, the Defense Industrial Development Program (EDIDP or PEDID).
  2. And more generally Germanic and Nordic.

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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