Scholz clashes with Merz over German economy and migration at last parliament meeting before poll
Scholz clashes with Merz over German economy and migration at last parliament meeting before poll
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused his main challenger in the upcoming election of “constant about turns,” while Friedrich Merz, the opposition leader and front-runner, accused Scholz of leaving behind an economic “disaster” as parliament met Tuesday for the last time before the country’s Feb. 23 election.
Polls give Merz’s center-right Union bloc the lead, with Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats well behind and showing little sign so far of narrowing the gap. They put the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in second place.
Scholz told lawmakers that his governing coalition, which collapsed in November in a dispute over how to revitalize Germany’s struggling economy, faced enormous challenges from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis and inflation.
Pointing to the “irritations” caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy announcements and his announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminum, Scholz said that “the wind is blowing in our face at the moment. And the truth is that that won’t change fundamentally in the coming years.”
“Strong leadership, strong nerves, a clear course — that’s what matters in such difficult times,” he added. “Not fickleness and a loud mouth.”
He accused Merz of “constant about turns,” for instance on aspects of policy toward Ukraine and refugees from that country.
Merz said Scholz and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens, who also is running for the top job, reminded him of “two managers who have driven the company into the wall, then go to the owners and say they’d like to carry on the same way for four years.”
He said that Germany’s economy is shrinking for a third consecutive year, and that the government is leaving behind “a sheer disaster” on the labor market.
“What we hear from you is … ‘I did everything right, it’s just that everyone else hasn’t understood this chancellor’s wisdom and intelligence,’” Merz said.
The pair have laid out contrasting plans to pep up the German economy and deal with irregular migration.
On the latter, Scholz accused Merz anew of “irresponsible gambling” and breaking a taboo when he brought a nonbinding motion calling for many more migrants to be turned back at Germany’s borders to parliament, which approved it by a narrow majority thanks to AfD’s votes — a first in postwar Germany.
Merz again insisted that there is “no question” of his party working with AfD. He said the next government must succeed in facing Germany’s challenges, otherwise right-wing populists could one day “come close to a majority.”
