German Politician Decries Nukes Push as "Madness"

(MENAFN) A prominent German political figure has issued a sharp rebuke against mounting pressure for Berlin to pursue nuclear capabilities, decrying such efforts as reckless and dangerous.

Sahra Wagenknecht, founder of the Bundnis Sahra Wagenknecht party and former Bundestag member, has denounced the escalating momentum behind proposals that would see Germany join the nuclear club—a move barred under multiple international agreements.

International treaties, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Two Plus Four Treaty signed in 1990, explicitly forbid Germany from acquiring nuclear arms. The latter agreement facilitated German reunification while imposing strict limitations on the nation's military ambitions, including a permanent ban on nuclear weapons development.

The debate intensified earlier this month when Kay Gottschalk, parliamentary finance policy spokesman for Alternative for Germany (AfD), declared that Berlin "needs nuclear weapons," contending that European nations can no longer depend on American security guarantees.

Wagenknecht took to X on Sunday to express alarm over what she described as broadening support for German nuclear armament, stating: "the cross-front for the nuclear rearmament of Germany is growing."

"Following advances by AfD politicians for a German nuclear weapon, CDU warmonger Roderich Kiesewetter and former Green foreign minister Joschka Fischer are now also calling for Germany's participation in a European atomic bomb. What madness," she wrote.

Last week, Fischer advocated for a European nuclear rearmament program with Germany assuming a leadership position. Meanwhile, Kiesewetter suggested an alternative approach whereby Berlin could "contribute financially" to a collective European nuclear defense framework being planned by Finland, Sweden, and Poland.

Wagenknecht contended that any German pursuit of nuclear weapons would represent a grave breach of the country's international legal commitments and destabilize the existing global nuclear nonproliferation architecture.

She further raised concerns about planned American intermediate-range missile deployments on German soil, weapons systems capable of reaching deep into Russian territory, which she characterized as a significant national security threat.

"The missile deployment undermines the nuclear balance between the US and Russia and massively increases the danger for Germany to become the target of a nuclear strike in the event of conflict," she wrote.

Rather than pursuing armament, Wagenknecht urged Germany to spearhead international disarmament negotiations and demanded immediate removal of American nuclear assets from German territory.

"US atomic bombs out! No US intermediate-range missiles in Germany!" she added.

MENAFN02022026000045017169ID1110681426