Few nations have as many demands placed upon them as Germany. Mostly they go unmet.
With its massive spending splurge, Berlin has just wildly exceeded all expectations.
It looks like a pivotal moment for Europe.
Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz’s announcement yesterday of hundreds of billions of euros for defense is a game changer not just for Germany but the whole continent as it faces Russia’s aggression — and a hole where the transatlantic alliance stood.
Germany is already NATO’s largest spender in dollar terms after the US. Yet it was noticeably quiet during this past week’s European diplomatic push to rally behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after his treatment at the hands of Donald Trump.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on his way out and Merz is not yet in. Together, though, their parties have agreed to overturn years of excessive fiscal prudence by amending the constitution to exempt defense and security outlays.
They also plan to launch a €500 billion ($536 billion) infrastructure fund to invest in things like transportation and energy grids.
If it can pass the Bundestag, this sets up Germany to at last meet its potential as Europe’s true heavyweight in economic, political and security terms.
Trump’s approach to Europe in general and Ukraine in particular appears to have been the tipping point. The US president’s decision to withhold military aid from Kyiv showed how stark the transatlantic divide is, and demanded action, in Merz’s words.
Freed of self-imposed fiscal constraints, Germany has the financial firepower and some of Europe’s most accomplished defense contractors that could make a difference, albeit not overnight.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski once said that he feared German power less than German inaction.
The sleeping giant is now awake. And all Europe is watching what it chooses to do from here.— Alan Crawford