Berlin [Germany], February 18: According to international media, the debate began with the topic of immigration and then quickly heated up when incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD party and candidate Friedrich Merz of the CDU/CSU alliance confronted Ms. Alice Weidel of the far-right AfD party about her party's anti-immigration policies.
During the debate, the candidates presented their plans for the German economy and their stance on the conflict in Ukraine. Mr Merz called for curbing the "bureaucratic monster" and cutting corporate taxes. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, the Greens' candidate, called for easing strict rules on government borrowing. Chancellor Scholz echoed the SPD's proposal to ease the burden on 95% of taxpayers, while Ms Weidel called for a focus on nuclear power, coal and gas to reduce energy prices.
On the other hand, Mr. Merz and Mr. Scholz criticized US Vice President JD Vance for interfering in German politics through his speech at the Munich Security Conference just before, while Ms. Weidel called for building good relations with the White House.
According to surveys, Mr. Merz's coalition has about 30% support, followed by the AfD with about 20%. Chancellor Scholz's SPD is only in third place with 15% while the SPD's coalition Greens have only 13%. Mr. Merz said he would consider joining hands with the SPD or the Greens, along with another small party, to form a government and flatly ruled out cooperation with the AfD.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper