Did the Union neglect the German armed forces during their reigns? At least that is what politicians from the traffic light coalition have accused. The CDU general secretary doesn’t want to hear anything about it.
CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja has rejected allegations that the Union is responsible for the current state of the Bundeswehr, which is often perceived as poor.
“In the past few years, we have repeatedly made proposals to strengthen the Bundeswehr and increase the defense budget. These were regularly ironed out by the SPD, our coalition partner at the time,” Czaja told the “Rheinische Post” with a view to the previous black and red governments in the federal government.
For a long time there was also no social majority in favor of strengthening the Bundeswehr, said the Secretary General. “Everyone thought they were in a stable peace order. That’s part of the truth.” The world is different now.
Politicians in the red-green-yellow federal government accuse the Union of having neglected the Bundeswehr during their reigns. The parliamentary group leader of the Greens in the Bundestag, Britta Haßelmann, wrote on Twitter: “The previous governments – CDU / CSU – left the Bundeswehr in a partially desolate state.” Investments are urgently needed so that the Bundeswehr can fulfill its NATO obligations.
On Friday, the Bundestag cleared the way for the 100 billion euro special program to equip an operational Bundeswehr. The money is to be used to purchase better equipment for the armed forces over the next few years. This involves aircraft, tanks and ammunition, but also personal equipment of the soldiers such as night vision devices or radios.
