OELDE (dpa-AFX) – “The Glocke” to speech by SPD leader Lars Klingbeil:
In a keynote speech at a Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation conference, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil called for Germany to pursue the claim of being a leading power in international politics. A demand that surprises. From a military point of view, Germany is far from being able to claim leadership – despite the fact that the armed forces have been strengthened by a special fund worth 100 billion euros. One remembers the statements of the army inspector Alfons Mais in February that the armed forces more or less bare. In the past few years, there have been regular reports about their missing or non-functional equipment. It will probably be several years before it becomes a powerful army./zz/DP/mis