Half of Germans back Chancellor Merz’s pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defense. But what about the other half? And how comfortable are Germany’s European partners with the new German leadership style, which includes sweeping commitments to arm up? DW’s top correspondents Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase in Berlin, along with Alexandra von Nahmen at NATO HQ in Brussels, analyze what Merz’s pledges will mean in real terms. How are Germans reacting to the hit on their finances and their self-image? And there’s another fundamental question — how on earth can Germany’s under-resourced military get the man- and woman-power it needs? This episode takes a close look under the hood of Germany’s defense capability. 00:00 Intro 01:19 Big defense spender! 5:50 NATO take on Merz 09:50 Manpower, anyone? 13:02 Reintroducing conscription 15:43 It's the Spirit 20:06 Germany leads – or not?! 22:39 Trump and NATO 26:08 German opinion polls 32:20 That "manifesto" 38:17 Far left and far right 41:00 Ready? Or not?! 41:45 Seeya next week! Why Germans are relieved after Merz’s Oval Office debut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiKJduwA3Qs Germany fast-tracks its military buildup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nup1ABYb1Mw Berlin Briefing on socialist Left Party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5F0bDhGO38 Berlin Briefing on far-left BSW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3AFjKERtZ4 Berlin Briefing on far-right AfD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evh-fCA8Tv4 Inside the far-right blueprint for Germany’s Eurasian future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFmpxuNxycM SPD-Manifest "Friedenssicherung in Europa durch Verteidigungsfähigkeit, Rüstungskontrolle und Verständigung" https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/spd-manifest-frieden-100.pdf DW Berlin Briefing newsletter https://www.dw.com/en/berlinbriefing/a-56770271 DW Berlin Briefing on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dw-berlin-briefing-inside-german-politics/id1775699172 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/07Wp4c6w9qVIYmB7JIbFBZ RSS feed DW Berlin Briefing: https://rss.dw.com/xml/podcast_Berlin_Briefing For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dwnews ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1
How ready are Germans to defend Europe? | Berlin Briefing Podcast
1 tag vor
Half of Germans back Chancellor Merz’s pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defense. But what about the other half? And how comfortable are Germany’s European partners with the new German leadership style, which includes sweeping commitments to arm up? DW’s top correspondents Michaela Küfner and Nina Haase in Berlin, along with Alexandra von Nahmen at NATO HQ in Brussels, analyze what Merz’s pledges will mean in real terms. How are Germans reacting to the hit on their finances and their self-image? And there’s another fundamental question — how on earth can Germany’s under-resourced military get the man- and woman-power it needs? This episode takes a close look under the hood of Germany’s defense capability. 00:00 Intro 01:19 Big defense spender! 5:50 NATO take on Merz 09:50 Manpower, anyone? 13:02 Reintroducing conscription 15:43 It's the Spirit 20:06 Germany leads – or not?! 22:39 Trump and NATO 26:08 German opinion polls 32:20 That "manifesto" 38:17 Far left and far right 41:00 Ready? Or not?! 41:45 Seeya next week! Why Germans are relieved after Merz’s Oval Office debut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiKJduwA3Qs Germany fast-tracks its military buildup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nup1ABYb1Mw Berlin Briefing on socialist Left Party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5F0bDhGO38 Berlin Briefing on far-left BSW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3AFjKERtZ4 Berlin Briefing on far-right AfD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evh-fCA8Tv4 Inside the far-right blueprint for Germany’s Eurasian future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFmpxuNxycM SPD-Manifest "Friedenssicherung in Europa durch Verteidigungsfähigkeit, Rüstungskontrolle und Verständigung" https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/spd-manifest-frieden-100.pdf DW Berlin Briefing newsletter https://www.dw.com/en/berlinbriefing/a-56770271 DW Berlin Briefing on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dw-berlin-briefing-inside-german-politics/id1775699172 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/07Wp4c6w9qVIYmB7JIbFBZ RSS feed DW Berlin Briefing: https://rss.dw.com/xml/podcast_Berlin_Briefing For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dwnews ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1
