German election debate: Scholz and Merz clash over immigration, economy

Olaf Scholz, the incumbent chancellor of the Social Democrats (SPD), and Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), faced each other for the first time in a live debate program on Sunday evening.

On stage, both candidates leveled harsh accusations at each other, including “unreliable,” “ridiculous,” and “very stupid.”

Scholz’s SPD is around 15 points behind the CDU/CSU in the polls.

The harsh tone of Sunday’s duel was typical of what has become one of the most bitter and divisive campaigns Germany has seen in recent memory.

Sunday’s debate was a reminder that the days of “dignified” debate are over as the country struggles to cope with a sluggish economy, geopolitical uncertainty, and major domestic tensions over migration.

At the beginning of the debate, Scholz and Merz expressed mutual respect for each other, despite their exchange of barbs before the debate. But then “the gloves came off.”

Although both tried to maintain civility throughout the 90-minute debate, they clashed repeatedly, especially on the issue of migration, with Merz claiming that “this SPD” could not cooperate.

Immigration issue in first place

“Why would anyone be so stupid?” Scholz exclaimed in a discussion with Merz about plans to turn back all migrants at the German border. According to Scholz, this would undermine the trust of European allies.

Merz and the CDU’s immigration bill had won a majority in the Bundestag for the first time in Germany’s post-war history at the hands of the far right (AfD), but Merz reiterated his rejection of a coalition with the AfD, saying, “It’s out of the question.”

Asked about the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets across Germany to condemn Merz’s taboo-breaking move in parliament, Merz said he had support from other parts of the electorate.

“The polls are going up,” Merz said, noting that the CDU had increased by one percentage point in the latest polls, “so it can’t be that wrong. I wish this had not happened,” he said.

Scholz blamed Putin for the state of the German economy

In response, Merz described Scholz’s “rosy” picture of his government’s economic record as a “fairytale castle.”

“I am a little surprised by your perception of the state of our economy. It has nothing to do with the reality outside,” Merz said.

The Chancellor, on the other hand, seemed lost in long-winded, technical explanations, which Merz cheerfully noted that he “didn’t quite understand.”

Scholz rejected the claim that the traffic light coalition had made Germans poorer, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fact that in 2022, the war in Ukraine caused a rise in energy prices and inflation.

Merz asked Scholz “for God’s sake” why Germany was closing its three remaining nuclear power plants in 2023 in the midst of the energy crisis and called the Chancellor’s claim that Germany was not suffering from deindustrialization in the face of a deep crisis in the manufacturing sector “astonishing.”

Attempting to portray Merz as a “dangerous free-market ideologue,” Scholz accused the CDU leader of wanting to privatize Deutsche Bahn, saying he wanted to separate the running of trains in Germany from the railway network.

“This will end as badly as in the United Kingdom, where nothing works anymore and there are only broken rails and bad trains,” Scholz warned.

Merz signals relaxation of the debt brake

Nevertheless, Scholz was able to restrain himself on some issues, especially those concerning social policy, and to repel Merz’s attacks from time to time.

At one point Merz asked Scholz: “Why have so many other countries in the European Union returned to growth rates for so long and we haven’t?” To which the Chancellor replied: “Because we are better at export orientation than others.”

Another thorny issue was the constitutional debt brake. Merz said he was open to reforming the country’s strict borrowing rules while under pressure over how to finance higher defense spending.

The CDU leader conceded that Germany’s constitutional “debt brake” may require reform, saying defense spending in Europe’s largest economy would “probably go towards 3 percent” of GDP under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

After Chancellor Scholz said it was “absurd” to claim that spending cuts and economic growth alone could provide the tens of billions of dollars needed to finance a larger defense budget, Merz raised the possibility of changing the constitutional requirement that limits Germany’s structural deficit to 0.35 percent of GDP.

“I have always said that you can discuss this, but certainly not at first. First comes the savings potential, growth and also the urgently needed budget reallocations,” said Merz.

For all their hostility, the two leaders may find themselves having to form a coalition once again after the election, although this prospect seemed remote on Sunday.

With the CDU and other mainstream parties ruling out a government coalition with the AfD, this may not be as far-fetched as it seems.