Merkel's challenger for the chancellor's seat has called her out for going easy on the US leader. Schulz said Germany should not make concessions to Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Recep Erdogan at the upcoming G20.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
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Martin Schulz criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday for not pursuing a tough enough line against US President Donald Trump. The center-left Social Democrat (SPD) is looking to unseat the 3-term conservative chancellor when Germany holds federal elections in September.
In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Schulz slammed his Christian Democrat (CDU) rival for refusing to stand up to the US leader or challenge undiplomatic behavior.
"The German chancellor must sometimes dare to be in conflict with the American president. Up to now, she has only done that in abstract terms," said Schulz.
"You can also give a president a clear no. I would say to Trump: We don't agree with your reasoning over a military buildup, which isn't justified by anything."
Trump has made a number of incendiary comments about Germany and its government, both on the campaign trail and since taking office. He once said Merkel was "ruining Germany," by taking in so many refugees, and later called the country "very bad" at a NATO meeting for its stark trade imbalances with several allies.
Schulz: No concessions to Trump, Putin, Erdogan
The former EU president added that his criticism "was not just for Merkel." With an eye to the upcoming G20 summit in Hamburg, Schulz said that "a democratic government needs to ask itself if it wants to join in consensus declarations with autocrats."
Instead, the German government ought to "stand firm on matters of climate protection, migration and development policy."
"Should we be making concessions to Trump, Erdogan and Putin? No," Schulz told the newspaper, also referencing the leaders of Turkey and Russia.
Although Schulz rode a wave of enthusiasm for a time in January after his candidacy was first announced, he has since seen his numbers steadily decline in favor of Merkel. The latest survey from polling agency INSA shows 37 percent of German voters in favor of Merkel's CDU, while only 24 peHere you can find all you need to know about the German electionsrcent said they plan to vote SPD.
Donald Trump on Germany: Top quotes
The US president has offered praise and dished out criticism of Germany. Whether describing the chancellor as "the greatest" or claiming Berlin owes "vast sums of money" to the US, here are his most memorable quotes.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/C. May
The good, the bad and the ugly
US President Donald Trump has offered both candid praise and unabashed criticism of Germany and its policies. From calling German Chancellor Angela Merkel "possibly the greatest world leader" to describing her open-door refugee policy as a "catastrophic mistake," here are his most memorable quotes regarding Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/C. May
'Greatest'
"Germany's like sitting back silent, collecting money and making a fortune with probably the greatest leader in the world today, Merkel," Trump said in a 2015 interview with US news magazine Time.
Image: Picture alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber
'Very bad'
"The Germans are bad, very bad ... Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US. Terrible. We'll stop that," Trump said during a NATO leaders summit, according to German news magazine Der Spiegel, which cited sources at the alliance's meeting.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/E. Vucci
'Something in common'
"As far as wiretapping, I guess, by - you know - [the Obama] administration, at least we have something in common, perhaps," Trump said in March during a press conference with Merkel. He was referring to his unproven allegations that ex-President Barack Obama tapped his phone. There was widespread anger in Germany in 2013 when it was revealed the US National Security Agency tapped Merkel's phone.
Image: Picture alliance/R. Sachs/CNP
'Illegals'
"I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals (sic), you know taking all of the people from wherever they come from," Trump said in a joint interview published by German daily Bild and British newspaper The Times, referring to Merkel's open-door policy for refugees fleeing war and persecution.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
'Germany owes vast sums of money'
"Despite what you have heard from the fake news, I had a great meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nevertheless, Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO and the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany," Trump said in a two-tweet statement after meeting with Merkel for the first time in March 2017.
Image: Picture alliance/dpa/L. Mirgeler
'Turning their backs'
"The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition," Trump tweeted in the midst of a row within the German goverment. He went on to claim that: "Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!"
