In an interview with the news channel WELT, the Green candidate criticizes Merkel’s relationship with authoritarian regimes. She calls for a new foreign policy to be launched and repression intensified.
Thus, Baerbock was “annoyed” by Laschet’s statements in this area. The Greens candidate for the post of chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, has spoken in favor of a much tougher course towards Russia and China.
Baerbock said they needed a real retreat in Germany, not only in the area of climate protection, justice, but also in foreign policy.
“We have seen how it hurts Europe and its strategic sovereignty in the world when Germany fails in foreign policy.” Therefore, “a new chapter of foreign policy should be opened in the heart of Europe,” she said.
The gap that Europe and the German government have left in recent years has been filled by authoritarian forces such as China or Russia.
The Green candidate stressed that the German government mixed security and economic issues on the China issue. In particular, Baerbock strongly criticized Angela Merkel for pushing the recent investment agreement between the EU and the PRC: in her opinion, Germany should remain with China in the framework of the dialogue, but at the same time show its firmness to Beijing.
She also said that government-backed Chinese companies cannot have free access to the European market.
Baerbock harshly criticized the current course of the German government towards Russia. She stated that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was obviously “planned against the interests of our European neighbors.” According to Berbock, on the one hand, it is impossible to impose sanctions against Russia, and on the other, to support the project, which is most important for the Kremlin.